An American Werewolf in Sengoku Jidai
by M'eyari
Summary: When an American werewolf seeks a stolen family heirloom, her nose leads her into the past - and straight to Lord Sesshoumaru.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer**: "Inu Yasha", alas, does not belong to me. Nor do any of its fine characters. Suing me would be a futile endeavor – all I own are the OC's that appear in here. Well…and a few DVD's. And the fansubbed episodes that found their way onto my hard drive – I have NO idea how that happened…'_cough_' _I Y 4-Ever . Net _ '_cough_'. _

'M'eyari gives her readers an innocent look.'_ What?_

_Also, this is a bit AU even for the Inuverse, and doesn't really take place anywhere in the series._

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_**Prologue**_

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_The woman knelt on the floor, contemplating the door in front of her. It was solid iron, and not likely to open any time soon. She couldn't believe her own stupidity. A stranger in a strange land, and she'd somehow managed not only to become sidetracked from her quest, but to also have seemingly pissed off a very powerful youkai._

_And for what? True, she'd managed to save the child – her conscience would hardly have let her do otherwise - but she hadn't foreseen losing her own freedom in the process. The woman carefully checked the sides of the solid sliding door, hoping for the millionth time to figure out how to get past the locks that had been placed on it. No luck yet, but that youkai couldn't hope to keep her in the small stone room forever. And when she got out, oh, was he going to pay...the woman shook her head at her thoughts, barely containing a laugh. _

'And what then, huh? You're going to insult him to death? That's what got you in here in the first place!_' The woman resisted the urge to snort, knowing that her captor could be looking at her at any moment. _

_True, the room was not without its amenities. There was a comfortable futon rolled up in the corner, and a pile of folded blankets promised to keep her from becoming chilled. There was clean water in a flask, and a ceramic jar, meant to hold more unsavory liquids, was discretely placed in a corner. But for all its attempts at comfort, she knew the room for what it really was. _

_A prison cell. _

_Placing her back to the wall opposite the door, the woman slowly slid to a sitting position on the floor, trying to keep her dejection from showing in that simple movement. In her native tongue, she murmured to herself._

_"How the hell did I get myself into this?"_

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_**A/N**: That's it for now, folks. But stay tuned – more is on the way!_

_Reviewing, as always, is appreciated…_


	2. Welcome to the Fairy Tale

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Inu Yasha_. All of the characters that are from _Inu Yasha_ aren't mine – they are the property of the incomparable Rumiko Takahashi. All the original characters in here are mine. If you ever want to play with one, talk with me and we'll arrange a play-date._

_**Rating**: This fic is rated 'R' for language and violence. If there is any future citrus (no guarantees, guys) it won't be crucial to the storyline, and it won't be hosted here at It will be hosted at my personal website, and I will make the URL for that available if and when it becomes appropriate._

_**A/N**: The prologue was actually a glimpse into the future. The story begins a few days before the prologue occurs – sorry for any confusion! Also, a note on Japanese words – when I don't feel that a proper English translation is available, I use the Japanese words. These would include the words "**youkai**" and "**hanyou**" (translated respectively into English as "demon" and "half-demon"), and the words "**jyaki**" ("wicked energy", a demon's natural aura), "**youki**" ("magical energy", or the power a youkai uses to make attacks),"**shouki**" ("miasma", refers to the poisonous fumes/gases a youkai such as Naraku can produce), as well as many of the attack names utilized in the Inu-verse._

_(Most of these definitions are paraphrases of those found at the Inuyasha Glossary section of www . ear – tweak . com – if you want to read a fan scanlation of the manga following the anime series ending, I highly suggest copying that address, taking out the spaces, and getting your Inuyasha-loving butt over there. The fan art is top-notch, as well.)_

_Other than that, the only languages that I speak fluently are English and Bad English, and I'll try not to pretend otherwise._

_A quick note on formatting:_

'_Words like this are thoughts.'_

"Words between quotation marks like this" are being spoken in Japanese.

"_Words italicized between quotation marks like this_" are being spoken in English.

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**Welcome to the Fairy Tale **

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A child skipped merrily along the lake shore, picking the flowers that struggled to grow in the sandy ground.

"Look at this one, Master Jakken!" she cried, shoving a particularly strong-shaded bloom into the little imp's face.

"Ack! Stupid girl! We came here because you said you were hungry! Why are you picking flowers and not finding something to eat!"

The girl sighed, her hand drooping as she began looking for something edible. The imp impatiently tapped a foot. "If you don't find something soon, we are going back, girl. Lord Sesshoumaru won't be pleased if we are gone too long!"

The child sighed. She hated when Jakken got into these moods. She couldn't help it that she was hungry more often than her youkai companions, could she?

She slowly dragged a toe in the sand, looking out into the water. Maybe there were fish…she edged out into the lake, ignoring the imp's shrieking as she intently studied the settling water around her feet. '_Not even minnows._' she thought with a sigh. '_I guess it'll be mushrooms for supper again…_'

The child turned to come back to shore, stopping when she saw Jakken's petrified form. As a shadow loomed over her, she slowly looked behind her…only to scream in fright as a huge tentacle wrapped around her middle and dragged her into the water.

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From a high cliff overlooking the lake, a sitting figure's head jerked up. "_Damn, was that a kid?" _she wondered aloud. Fast as thought, she looked out onto the lake, squinting to pick up the form of the child…heart sinking as she saw the form of the monster. She hesitated, wincing as the young wolf beside her whined, his ears flattening as his begging tone pierced the air.

Without further consideration, the young woman quickly stripped down to her tunic, and strapped her knife onto her thigh. She stepped lightly back, then leaped into a dead run that sent her sailing away from the cliff. She flipped in midair, executing a perfect swan dive as she cut into the sparkling blue water.

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Sesshoumaru lifted his face to the sky and delicately sniffed the wind. '_How strange… a wolf and a human? Together? And in my lands, no less?_'

A sense of unease had dogged the great lord's steps for weeks now. Something wasn't right in his domain, and whatever was the cause would not escape him for long. He had awoken before the sun, his instincts screaming that the source of his irritation was close at hand.

And so today he had sent Jakken away with Rin on the pretense of finding food for the human.

In reality, Sesshoumaru wanted to find the intruders of his domain without the excitable imp _or _his frail human in attendance.

Sesshoumaru looked up at the looming mountainside. There was no doubt that the mysterious combination of scents grew stronger the closer he came to Kouga's territory. The wolf scent made sense here, but the human's did not.

'_Are Kouga's wolves preying on humans once more?_' Sesshoumaru wondered. If so, the last thing he needed right now was Rin facing the creatures of her nightmares, or Jakken panicking and recklessly waving about his Staff of Heads.

No, much better to investigate this oddity alone.

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The woman slowly dragged the child out of the lake. '_God, I _hate_ diving into cold water!_' she thought as she fought to keep from violently shivering.

The woman flipped the non-breathing child over and quickly performed the Heimlich, watching in satisfaction as the girl coughed all of the water out of her lungs.

She'd been afraid, when she'd first gotten a hold of her, that the child was already lost. But the girl's heart beat steady and strong, even when she wasn't drawing breath. '_It's almost like she refuses to die, or something._' the young woman mused.

She patted the coughing child's back reassuringly and gazed worriedly out at the lake. '_The monster that grabbed her is still in there somewhere…just waiting._'

The young woman looked ruefully down at the stinging burn that decorated her left calf. '_It's probably pissed as hell, too._' She'd had to hack its tentacle off to make good their escape.

The girl's breathing was labored, but it sounded like her coughing had finally stopped. The woman kept her hand on the child's back, rubbing in slow circles, and her eyes on the lake.

"What's your name, kid?" From the corner of her eye, the woman caught the child looking warily up at her.

"Rin." the child said haltingly. "My name is Rin."

The woman nodded and slowly stood up, holding her arms out to Rin. The child gave her an uncertain look. "C'mon, Rin. We should get out of here...and don't look at me like that." The woman flashed Rin a quick grin, careful to hide her teeth. "I didn't save you from that thing just to eat you myself."

The child..._'Rin,_' the woman sternly reminded herself, hesitated, then held out her arms to be picked up. The woman obliged, and moved her so that Rin was resting on her back. The woman wasn't exactly her normal chipper self after her dip in Lake Iceberg. Carrying Rin piggy-back, she reasoned, was a lot easier than it would have been to carry her bridal-style.

The woman kept her gaze on the lake, and didn't turn even when she heard her companion rustling in the brush. She didn't see any movement out in the water, but then, she hadn't seen any before she'd heard the kid scream. She slowly backed up into the tree line, and waited a few minutes before turning and trotting away.

The wolf quickly joined her, loping effortlessly at her side. The child on her back stiffened, whimpering in fright. The young woman wrinkled her nose. She couldn't have missed the smell of the child's fear and discomfort even if someone had shoved rotting meat under her nose.

"It's alright, Rin." she said soothingly. "Derek's with me, and the only thing he's likely to want to do to you right now is to _play_ with you."

The young wolf had been lagging behind, nose to the ground, but at his companion's words he suddenly darted forward and licked the sole of Rin's foot. The little girl squealed, and pulled her feet higher up on the young woman's back.

The woman sighed, and gave the wolf a scathing glance. "_Knock it off, Derek!_" she barked, reproaching him in English. "_Do you _want_ to keep scaring her?_"

The wolf whined, and lowered his head apologetically towards the ground.

"That's what I thought." she said, once more in Japanese. "Why don't you scout ahead, and give the kid a chance to relax and get used to you, huh?" The wolf gave a short bark, and dutifully began to trot ahead of the two females.

"Do you know anyone around here, Rin?" The woman twisted her head to look at the girl, who was shaking her own.

"I was looking for something to eat, Lady. Master Jakken was with me until the water-youkai grabbed me. I think he went to find our Lord Sesshoumaru."

'_Well,_' the woman reasoned to herself, '_if this 'Master Jakken' is a little guy, maybe he was the green blur I saw as I was diving. In which case..._'

"Rin." The girl looked at the woman questioningly. "Which way are your Master Jakken and Lord Sesshoumaru?" The child pointed due west.

'_Damn!_' The woman looked longingly to the east. All of her outer clothes - and medical supplies - were still on the cliff top she and her companion had been on until they saw the kid get nabbed. '_Damnit, I_ _do_ not _want to meet any strange males while in my T-shirt and undies. My _sopping wet_ T-shirt and undies!_' she griped to herself. '_For one thing, ew! For another, guys in this era are weird. There's no telling what kind of first impression that would make!_' she thought in disgust.

Her eyes narrowed. Very faintly, she could hear the young wolf ahead of her trying to hide a snicker. "_Don't start with me, you. You could have brought my stuff down with you!_" The wolf lagged back once more, and apologetically licked her leg. She winced as his tongue scraped too close to her wound. "_I could really use the salve in that med-kit right now…ah, don't worry about it._" She said consolingly as his ears drooped dejectedly.

She longed to reach down and touch the knife that was safely tied to her thigh. '_You knock it off, too.._'she ordered herself. '_Just because you're feeling insecure doesn't mean you need to worry the kid._'

She took a deep breath and slowly breathed back out. "Rin, do you think your friends would be terribly upset if we took a short side trip before we took you back?"

The women repressed a sigh as the apprehension in Rin's scent spiked. "It wouldn't take very long..." the woman said coaxingly. "It's just that my clothes are on top of that cliff over there," she nodded towards it with her head, "and I'd hate to meet your friends in my current...state of undress."

The child's face grew baffled at the woman's words. '_Ah well,_' the woman thought grumpily, '_from the looks of things she couldn't be older than ten – still too young to understand the social ramifications of not-enough-cloth._' She sighed.

Ah, well, at least it was a _long _t-shirt.

The woman looked up, resolution in her eyes. "Which way to your friends again?"

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Sesshoumaru stopped on the edges of the obvious campsite. '_The scents are so strong here…but why would they have left all of their things without leaving a sentry?_' he mused. He moved cautiously into the open.

Silence met his move. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as he moved further into the site. A leather backpack was lying carelessly off to one side, open with some of its contents spilling out. Closer to the cliff, Sesshoumaru discovered what appeared to be some discarded armor and clothing. He kneeled down, carefully picking up the cloth between two fingers. '_Pants?_' he thought in disbelief, his nostrils flaring. '_And smelling of a human female, as well, though the scent of the wolf is strong._' A third nuance wrinkled his nose, causing him to snort delicately. '_A _youkai_ wolf, hmm? But who of the wolves would be so foolish as to enter my territory without my permission?_'

He was gazing reflectively out towards the lake as a rustle in the underbrush caused him to drop the cloth and grasp Tokijin. He was coming out of his crouch as a hysterical green and brown ball threw itself down at his feet.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! This Jakken has been searching frantically for you, Lord Sesshoumaru!" the imp panted. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, allowing his nose to tell him that the human child was not with the imp.

"Jakken." he said calmly, allowing his head to tilt to one side. "Where is Rin?" The imp shook in fear, and Sesshoumaru repressed a sigh. One…two…three…

"It was awful, Lord Sesshoumaru!"

'_Umm-hmm, I bet it was. It_ always _is._' Sesshoumaru thought sarcastically.

"That horrible human refused to look for food and instead picked flowers! And when this Jakken scolded her, she ran away from me and into the lake! And then, a youkai reached out of the water and grabbed Rin! This Jakken…ack, erg, glah…"

Sesshoumaru had lost his patience as soon as the imp told him about the youkai's abduction of Rin, and was now holding the imp by the throat.

"Why did you not protect her!" The imp gasped for air as Sesshoumaru dropped him unceremoniously to the ground, fixing him in place with a glare. The imp scrambled to kneel properly, prostrating himself before his lord. "This Jakken tried, my lord! But as soon as Rin screamed, a human fell from the sky! The human dove into the water after Rin, my lord, and as I could do nothing, I came to find you!"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. '_Fell from the sky, hmm?_' Sesshoumaru carefully traced the footprints in the ground, then calculated the distance from the cliff to the water below. '_Ridiculous. A mere human would never survive the fall. Unless…_' Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as comprehension dawned. '_Of course, why did I not see it before?_'

He turned on his heel, marching out of the clearing. "Jakken." he stated, his composure regained.

"Yes, my lord?" the imp said waveringly, fear trembling his still-prostrate form.

"Gather this armor and clothing and place it in that bag. Then, take the bag with you and find me."

The imp raised his face from the ground as his lord walked further away from him. "Where are you going my lord?" Sesshoumaru turned his head to fix Jakken with an over-the-shoulder glare. The imp sank further into the dust. "Not that it is my place to ask…" the imp murmured. Sesshoumaru faced forward again, and graced his retainer with one last sentence before disappearing into the trees.

"I am going to find that 'human'…and Rin."

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The three trudged through the trees for a good hour before Rin admitted she was lost. They'd stumbled upon what could have been the remains of a campsite, but if it was it had been abandoned long before they had gotten there.

The woman counted slowly to ten, then turned around and started heading back east, her companion trotting merrily ahead of her. '_Okay. So the kid's disoriented. I'd've been, too, if I'd nearly been eaten by something that looked like Nessie on a bad tentacle day._' the woman reasoned with herself.

The wound on her leg had gone from a dull throb to a burn. Annoying as hell, but not life-threatening. Yet.

'_Damnit._' she thought. '_The last thing I need right now is an infection. At least my clothes are dry now,_' she soothed herself, '_and, from the feel of things, my body heat has dried Rin's, too._'

The woman was just glad that it was warm enough that Rin hadn't commented on the woman's higher-than-normal body temp. She didn't really feel like explaining _that_ to the girl...just like she didn't want to explain her odd teeth.

The kid had already been scared enough for one day.

The woman coughed, and shifted the kid around a little to ease her sore back muscles. The child's breathing was steady and even, but the woman didn't think she was asleep yet. "So what were you and your friends doing out here, Rin?"

The child yawned, and settled back in place. "We were patrolling, Lady."

The woman quirked an eyebrow and glanced back at her. The kid smiled sleepily. "This is Lord Sesshoumaru's territory. He patrols to make sure there are no rogue youkai here."

"So is your Lord Sesshoumaru a youkai hunter?" the woman inquired politely.

The girl tensed, and then burst out into giggles.

'_Wow,_' the woman thought, '_at this rate my eyebrow is never going to lay flat again..._' and she gave Rin another questioning look.

"Lord Sesshoumaru isn't a youkai _hunter_." the child giggled. "He's a youkai _lord_."

The woman almost stopped walking. "A youkai lord, huh? But I thought the wolf Kouga was the lord of these lands?" The woman felt the kid shake her head. "Nope, Lord Kouga's tribe only rules on that mountain, and the land just east of that mountain. Even then, his claim matters only to the other wolf tribes – many other types of youkai share the wolves' territory. Sesshoumaru-sama, on the other hand, rules _all_ of the lands west of this mountain – and no other youkai is strong enough to challenge Lord Sesshoumaru."

The woman mentally cursed. '_Gee, real nice of that Kouga to give me permission to wander these lands…considering that, apparently, they aren't even his!_'

'_Ah well._' she soothed herself. '_That's just one more reason to get my stuff back and get this kid back home._'

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Outwardly Sesshoumaru appeared calm. Inwardly he was a roiling mess of emotions.

'_Where could they have gone?_' he voicelessly raged. Sunset was fast approaching, and they had yet to find hide or hair of Rin and the 'human'. '_They didn't just slip into thin air. Where are they!' _

Jakken followed closely on his lord's heels, dutifully carrying the leather bag that reeked of human contact. '_Why did Lord Sesshoumaru insist on bringing this bag of human junk? Does he think it will help us find Rin in some way?' _

Jakken suddenly jerked out of his thoughts as he ran into a warm, clothed leg. Sesshoumaru stared down at the imp, curling his upper lip in a silent snarl. The imp dropped to his knees. "My apologies, my lord, this stupid Jakken did not watch where he was going…"

He babbled for a few more minutes before realizing that if he still had his head now, he probably wasn't going to lose it quite yet. He hesitantly looked up at his lord, who was now sniffing the air intently. '_Ack! I interrupted his train of thought!' _the imp thought, mortified. '_But is my lord trying to scent Rin, or the human who has now abducted her?'_

The imp found himself shook out of his thoughts as Sesshoumaru leapt into a run. He tried desperately to keep up, but the weight of both the bag and his Staff of Heads slowed him down considerably.

"Wait! My lord! Where are you going WITHOUT ME!" he yelled, breaking down into tears.

"My lord…" he said dejectedly as the white, shining figure of Sesshoumaru disappeared into the sunset. Firming his resolve, Jakken straightened his shoulders. "No matter! If Lord Sesshoumaru feels the need to hurry to the point that he must leave his faithful retainer behind, then it must be important! I will catch up! Lord Sesshoumaru can count on me!"

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The forest around them was quiet - too damn quiet. Outside the woods daylight still lingered, but here deep amongst the trees it might as well have been midnight. Fireflies danced around the trio while Rin slumbered on the woman's back.

The woman didn't like the silence. There should have been a cacophony of noises - mosquitoes buzzing, cicadas chirping, night birds crying - and yet, there was nothing. Even the fireflies wove their trails of light in silence.

She stopped and listened. "_Do you hear that, Derek?_" she said quietly. The young wolf's ears strained forward, a growl rumbling in his throat. '_There._' It was to her right - a rustle in the underbrush. '_Damn thing's not bothering to watch where it puts its feet._' she thought in disgust.

"Rin." the woman said quietly, gently waking the girl. "Hmm...what?" she said sleepily, stifling a yawn. "Can you climb trees, Rin?" The woman felt the child shake her head. '_Damn._'

"Hold tight around my neck then, Rin."

The girl had barely secured her hold when the woman leapt from the ground to the lowest branch of the nearest pine. It was only five feet in the air, even a normal human could have jumped and grabbed the branch. The woman pulled herself up, and quickly climbed a little higher. She gently deposited Rin on a branch about ten feet in the air, satisfied that whatever happened below, a predator wouldn't see her.

"Stay here, Rin...no matter what you hear, stay here, okay?" Rin nodded mutely, and the woman began her climb back down to the ground.

The woman's scent clung to the branches, but it couldn't be helped. '_At least,_' she thought, '_my scent masks the child's._' She quietly slipped her dagger from its sheath, and listened intently. Whatever it was she heard, it was now trying to be quiet and sneak up behind her. '_Damn._' she cursed. '_It _is_ stalking us, then._'

She willed herself still, holding her energy until she needed it. "_Chill, Derek." _She murmured to the bristling canine. "_Whatever it is, we can handle it._"

The wolf whined and nudged her injured leg. The woman fought to hide a wince, and jokingly exclaimed "_What, you expect that to slow me down? Keh! As if!" _She returned her attention to the forest around them, easily picking up on the footsteps that had now circled behind them.

_'Just a little closer..._' she thought. _'That's right, buddy, just a few more steps..._'

She scented him behind her, the smell of decay choking her nose as she forced herself not to move. '_Wait for it…now!_'

The woman whirled, her free hand punching out to slam her pursuer's nose into his face. The man jerked back from the force of the blow, but made no other moves. '_What the hell?_' Her knife-hand slammed hilt first into his diaphragm, forcing all the air in his body to be expelled, as her free hand grabbed his topknot and forced him to spin and drop hard onto his knees.

She pulled back on his hair, forcing him into a deliberately uncomfortable position as her blade found its way to his throat. "Why were you stalking me?" she growled.

The man remained unnervingly still, the smell of decay making the woman fight not to gag. '_This guy smells…Oh my God! He's dead!' _the woman realized in shock.

"Whoever said we were stalking _you_?"

The hairs on the back of the woman's neck stiffened, and she fought down a snarl. Along with the feminine voice came the unmistakable scent of jyaki, slowly leaking into the clearing.

Her body suddenly exploded with pain, and she fought not to release the dead man she had in her grip. The animated corpse had grabbed her leg by the burn wound, and was digging his fingers into her now-gaping flesh. She howled, jerking her knife savagely back, severing the corpse's neck. She dully noted the spray of old blood that now covered herself and the forest floor as she threw away the head and let the twitching corpse drop from her grasp.

The woman crouched on the forest floor, favoring her injured leg as she held her knife in a defensive pose. She dully noted that the wolf was savaging the dead man's body, dragging it out of the clearing.

"_Knock it off, Derek. The kid doesn't need to see that." _she growled. The wolf gave one more savage shake of his head before releasing the corpse. He trotted over to the woman, sniffing her trembling frame, licking her now-bleeding wound.

She winced, and placed her arm around his shoulders. "_I'll be alright, Derek. We have to stay on our guard…you can smell them, can't you?" _The jyaki in the clearing was steadily increasing, cloying to the air like bad incense on steroids.

The woman and wolf looked upwards as the wind began to howl. '_How could all these youkai have sneaked up on us like this?_' the woman thought, aghast. The sky was filled with a horde of youkai, and the woman prayed to any deity that would listen that Rin was still safely out of sight.

A woman slowly appeared from the trees, walking towards the wolf and crouching woman, a fan held half-way in front of her face. She flicked her fan downward, an expression of disgust twisting what would have otherwise been handsome features. '_Aw, looks like someone doesn't like us. Peachy._' the injured woman thought sarcastically.

"Disposing of my toy so quickly? What a shame." A flick of the fan, and the injured woman was horrified to see the decapitated corpse dancing like a marionette. "It doesn't really matter, you know. Just one more puppet on my string...as you will be, if you don't answer my questions. Where is the child, hanyou?" _That_ got the injured woman's attention. '_Wow, she's good._' Most people didn't immediately pick her out as having youkai blood - though calling her a half-breed was pushing the truth by a few generations. '_Guess that means I don't have that much to hide right now, hmm?_'

The injured woman delicately lifted her lip in a snarl, showing off a less-than-delicate fang. "And what child would that be?" she demanded.

The fan-bearer made a sound of annoyance. "Sesshoumaru's human, hanyou. Where is the girl?" The injured woman's lip curled up further in disgust. "And what makes you think that I know where this 'Sesshoumaru's' child would be?"

The youkai – for that is what the injured woman's nose confirmed the newcomer to be – flicked her fan down. "I do not have time for these games, worthless half-breed! Where is the girl?" The woman's lip curled up completely, her fangs bared as she snarled. "Couldn't tell you."

'_Rin, please, please, PLEASE don't make a sound!_' she prayed fervently as her hand tightened its grip on her weapon.

The youkai wheeled back, her fan coming up. "If you won't tell me, worthless hanyou, then I suppose you should DIE! _Dance of Blades_!"

The fan came down, spilling dancing blades of wind straight at the growling wolf and the injured woman…and at Rin's tree. The pair leapt apart, dodging what they could. The wolf was able to dive mostly out of harm's way, but the injured woman was not so lucky. A blade cut across her arm, numbing it and causing her nerveless fingers to drop her dagger.

The injured woman heard the remaining blades cut into the tree behind her, and her sensitive ears caught a slight whimper. She grabbed her dagger with her off-hand and jumped at the wind youkai before the whimper could pull her attention.

Something reached the female youkai before the injured woman could. A blast of purple energy slammed into the ground at the wind user's feet, forcing her to jump back and the injured woman to stop her rush. A tall figure in white landed between the two, facing the wind youkai, holding a sword defensively in front of him. The injured woman didn't know whether to be relieved or apprehensive.

The female youkai stepped back, her fan held protectively in front of her. "Sesshoumaru," she said haltingly, "what a pleasant surprise."

"Kagura. You know better than to try to take what is mine." He tilted his head, a single golden eye coolly regarding the injured woman and the snarling wolf at her side. "If you do know where Rin is," he stated in a quiet but commanding tone, "you should get her out of here." He turned to coolly face Kagura, who paled and stepped back. "This Sesshoumaru will handle this."

The woman nodded, stepping back quickly as Sesshoumaru returned his icy gaze to Kagura. In the ensuing battle, the woman quickly leapt up Rin's tree, collecting the shaking child and throwing her onto her back. "Hold on tight, Rin." the woman murmured, her breath quickly choked off by the child's arms. "Eh…maybe not that tight, kid." She smiled faintly as Rin's arms loosened enough for her face to stop turning blue.

The woman made good use of the treetops, leaping from one tree to another, in leaving the battle far behind. When the lights were distant, and the sounds of battle no longer shook the air, the woman slowly climbed down from the trees. Her wolf companion emerged from the brush, shaking himself before trotting up to her. The woman smiled wanly, crouching down to embrace him as the little girl slid from her back. Nose and ears twitching, she cautiously examined the area for signs of pursuit. "_Nobody followed you, right Derek?" _The wolf snorted and shook his great head. The woman laughed tiredly. "_Didn't think so." _

She sank down to the ground, pulling the wolf close with her injured arm. Leaning wearily against the trunk of an enormous magnolia tree, she eyed the now wary human child.

"He won't bite, Rin. I promise." She held her uninjured arm out in a silent command for the human to join them. The child slowly inched towards them, warily watching the wolf, before sinking into the woman's embrace. The woman allowed the tired child to snuggle into her shoulder, and shifted her injured arm to lessen the discomfort.

'_Peachy._' she thought, irritated. '_Just peachy_.' Now her leg _and_ her arm ached, and she knew that even with her healing abilities she would not be able to run again for at least an hour. '_Might as well let the kid get some sleep._' she mused

"Lady?" Rin asked politely, breaking into the woman's ruminations. The injured woman smiled, and shifted her tired gaze to the child. "You have not told me your name." The woman smiled slightly, though the happy expression seemed to be tinged with sadness.

"My name is Amaya, Rin, but my friends call me Amy." Her head tilted to regard the wolf that was now pushing his nose across her lap and towards the little girl's hand. "I think my companion would like you to know that his name is Derek." she commented wryly, pleased to see that the girl's apprehension in the presence of _this_ particular wolf was fading fast.

The little girl yawned, sleepily stroked the young wolf's head, and snuggled back into Amy's warm shoulder.

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Jakken screeched to a halt as he entered the youkai-littered clearing. "Ew…" he muttered as he sidestepped the bits and pieces of once proud youkai warriors. He halted as he beheld his master, who stood with Tokijin settled a bare centimeter from the hollow of Kagura's throat.

"What did you want with her, Kagura?" Sesshoumaru stated in a calm voice.

The wind witch laughed, pulling a feather from her hair and quickly throwing it to the ground in a gust of wind. Sesshoumaru stepped back before looking nonchalantly up at the floating youkai.

"Why do I ever 'want' anything, Sesshoumaru?" she called down. "Naraku ordered it, of course. Why…why, I don't know."

With that, the wind youkai disappeared, taking her few remaining warriors with her. Sesshoumaru stared into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

"Jakken." Or not. "Yes, my Lord?" Sesshoumaru tilted his head towards his retainer, but kept his eyes on the sky. "Follow the trail of the hanyou who has Rin. There is human medicine in that bag…the hanyou will need it."

Jakken determinedly re-shouldered the bag. "You can count on me, my lord!" He turned towards the trees, then hesitated. "Pardon me, my lord, but how will I know which trail is theirs?" Sesshoumaru silently sighed. "Theirs is the only trail of blood that leads more than five feet _away_ from this clearing, Jakken."

The imp cleared his throat and took a step backwards. "Ah, thank you, my Lord. I shall not hesitate to find them, my lord, I…" and Jakken broke for the woods, leaving Sesshoumaru alone with his thoughts.

'_That woman…_' he mused, closing his eyes. The image of her, defending his Rin, was burned into his memory. She had been crouched, blood flowing down her pale right arm and her even paler left leg. She had been clothed only in a long, sleeveless white tunic that emphasized her curves as much as it hid them. Her long hair, brown with the merest hint of red, had been gathered in a messy braid that trailed down her back only to pool on the ground as she crouched. And her eyes…Sesshoumaru would never be able to forget those eyes, even if their color had been Earthly. In her rage and pain they had bled pure red, though her scent had shown no signs of changing to that of a full youkai.

'_Interesting._ _Either she is much weaker than she appears to be or her control is immense, for a hanyou._' he mused.

A breeze fluttered the youkai lord's bangs, drawing him away from thoughts of mysterious bleeding hanyous. He had his Rin to find…and where this mysterious hanyou was, his Rin would be.

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The woman gazed out into the night. She could no longer hear the sounds of fighting, but that did not mean that the battle was over - just that they were a decent distance from it. She looked fondly down at Rin, and made an impulsive decision. "Would you like to hear a story, Rin?"

Rin yawned. "I'm not very fond of long stories, Lady Amy."

The woman tilted her head, eyes shining in mild amusement. "It is a good one, Rin…but I won't be offended if you fall asleep, I promise."

The girl nodded sleepily, and the woman settled herself back into the tree, slightly shifting the wolf who now covered her lap.

"Once, a very long time ago, there was a wolf hanyou who had sworn never to have anything to do with his human mother's people. It was an oath he was destined not to keep. For you see, one day, he fell in love with a human healer…"

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Well, for a first chapter, how was it? And for anyone who wants to know where I'm going with this, I guess you'll just have to read the next few chapters and find out. 8o)

**A/N**: Before anyone asks, there _is _a reason that Ah-Un hasn't shown up yet. ;) Have a little faith.


	3. The Tale of the Moon Wolf Clan

**_Disclaimer:_** _Nope, Sesshoumaru, Rin and Jakken still aren't mine. '_eyes the Sesshoumaru plushie that will be released in the US soon_' Hmm…maybe for Christmas, though…_

**_A/N_**: _This story is rated R for language and violence. If you're at all interested in this story, you're probably wondering who, exactly, Amaya is and what she's doing in the Sengoku Jidai. All will be revealed in due time. Btw, the tale Amaya tells in this chapter is completely my own fabrication. I might post a full version of this story at my website, once "American Werewolf" is complete._

_Jakken may also seem a bit OOC in this chapter – I needed the little jerk to open up and talk for the sake of the plotline, but he didn't want to do it naturally. Tight-lipped little bugger…_

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**The Moon Wolf Clan**

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_The girl nodded sleepily, and the woman settled herself back into the tree. _

"_Once, a very long time ago, there was a wolf hanyou who had sworn never to have anything to do with his human mother's people. It was an oath he was destined not to keep. For you see, one day, he fell in love with a human woman…_

"Masako hadn't been looking to fall in love with a hanyou. She hadn't even been looking to fall in love. What she _had_ been looking for were medicinal herbs – in particular, an elusive herb that resisted efforts to cultivate it and grew only in the heart of the forest. So imagine this young healer's surprise when, one day, she stumbled upon an unconscious young man in the middle of her herb patch.

"The young man was handsome…and also very, very hurt. Even with her healing powers – though no miko, she did have an innate power to heal - Masako was unable to revive him in the woods, and so decided to carry him back to her village. Once there, she was able to treat his wounds, but was unable to wake him until nearly sunset.

"He awoke nauseous and disoriented. He'd been left for dead in the forest and, at first, he thought he _was_ dead. When he realized that he was not only very much alive, but in the house of a human, he panicked. He insisted on leaving, and when Masako tried to persuade him to stay, to let his wounds finish healing, he attacked Masako."

Rin shifted, rubbing her head into Amy's shoulder. "If all she was doing was trying to help him, why did he attack her, Lady Amy?" Amy smiled sadly, and rubbed her chin along the top of Rin's head. "Some people hate what they fear, Rin. And that young hanyou was very afraid…

"But Masako wasn't someone who gave up very easily. The young man was still bleeding, and Masako had little trouble following his footprints into the woods.

"She noticed the change just after sundown. The young man's footprints changed into paw prints. Masako had to backtrack just to make sure that what she was seeing was real – that the feet had really changed form. She should have turned back then, once she knew what it was that she was following…"

Amy shifted position, pulling Rin further into her lap until she was able to rest the girl against her chest and stretch her injured leg out. She winced as the muscles around her wound pulled – the flesh was an angry red, and had gone from seeping blood to seeping pus. '_Damn, I wish I had my med-kit…_' The displaced wolf made a disgruntled sound at her as he nudged her leg. "_I know, I know…sheesh._" she muttered grumpily. She really did need to treat the wound before too much more time passed.

Amy sighed, and at Rin's sleepy "Hmm?" she continued her story. "She was following what my people would call a '_werewolf_', Rin, but what your people would recognize as a wolf hanyou. You see, some hanyous appear to be fully a mix of their youkai and human heritage, except for the one night a month that they must become fully human. Some hanyous, on the other hand, are cursed to show their human heritage by day and their youkai heritage by night…and Masako's hanyou was one of these. By day, he was stuck in his human form…but at night his youkai blood was unleashed. On nights of the full moon…" Amy paused, her face tilted up towards the moonlight filtering through the forest canopy. "On nights of the full moon," she continued quietly, "he was able to take on the true form of a wolf."

The wind sighed through the treetops. Crickets chirped in the grass. Amy kept her ears open, but could not hear anything out of the ordinary. She still could not hear the sounds of battle, but took it for a good sign – she hoped that Rin's youkai would come and collect her soon, and allow Amy to retrieve her medical supplies. She cast a speculative gaze around the clearing. '_Hmmm…_' she thought, '_those leaves would act as a good bandage, but I don't see anything that would draw the poison out of the wound…_' She was pulled out of her reverie by Rin shifting in her lap. "What happened then, Lady Amy? Did Masako find her hanyou?" Amy sighed. This really was her least favorite part of the story.

"Yes, Rin. It took her most of the night, but she tracked the hanyou back to the clearing where she'd first found him. By that time, his wounds had ceased to bleed, and his youkai blood had almost completely healed him. When Masako found him, she didn't recognize the black wolf in front of her.

"Masako had been careless. She had left her home without thought of protecting herself – only of keeping her charge from aggravating his wounds. As I said, her wolf had attacked her to make good his escape, and she had left a trail of her own blood behind her. The wolf took one look at her…and leapt at the spider youkai that had followed her.

"It was a fierce battle, and long. Masako was forced to retreat to the trees and watch in horror as the wolf and spider battled. At dawn, the spider was dead and the wolf slowly transformed into a human. Masako treated his wounds in silence. Once satisfied that he would recover, she asked him why he had saved her. He told her in no uncertain terms that he and the spider were old enemies – saving her had been merely incidental. Offended, Masako started to leave…only for the wolf to ask why she had treated his wounds and followed him into the forest.

" 'I'm a healer.' she told him. 'You needed to be healed.' After that, whenever Masako went herb-hunting, she was never alone – her hanyou shadow always watched over her. Over the years their grudging friendship turned into something more, but neither wanted to admit it. Until one day, a stranger appeared in Masako's village. The stranger was a youkai-exterminating monk." Amy shivered. "The monk took one look at Masako and fell in love with her. When Masako resisted his advances, the monk was affronted. When he found out about her hanyou friend…he was outraged.

"The monk hunted down the hanyou, and attempted to kill him. Masako managed to stop the monk, but not before he had sealed her friend so that he could only take human form."

Amy cocked her head to the side. She heard light footfalls in the distance. "_Down, Derek._" she said quietly as the tired young wolf started to growl. Whoever it was, it was approaching towards their front, and the footfalls sounded deliberately made. '_Huh. Not trying to sneak up on us, then._' She drew Rin closer with her left arm, and allowed her injured right arm to rest on her thigh, her fingers playing with the hilt of her sheathed dagger. "After a long journey, and much hardship, Masako and her wolf were able to find someone willing to lift the curse on the hanyou – a powerful miko who had herself once loved a youkai. But even this miko was unable to lift the curse completely – only to counteract it. She forged a powerful charm, called the 'Talisman of the Moon,' using the hanyou's blood, Masako's healing tears, and her own power. The talisman, so long as the wolf wore it, allowed the hanyou to unleash his youkai blood at will – or to contain it.

"When the hanyou and Masako mated, they found that the talisman's power – and the monk's curse - extended to their offspring. So long as the talisman was passed from rightful heir to rightful heir, its power affected all of their descendants, allowing them to choose how to counteract the family curse, to choose how to express their thinning youkai blood. When the talisman passed into other hands…"

Amy paused in her story telling, absently raising her free hand from her dagger hilt to scratch the ears of the sleepy wolf beside her. The footfalls had stopped just outside the clearing, and Amy had the distinct feeling that Rin wasn't the only one listening to her story. Amy discretely scented the wind, confirming her suspicions before softly continuing her tale.

"When the talisman fell into the wrong hands, disaster struck the family. Some, with a lesser amount of youkai blood, were rendered completely human. Some, who were born from matches between Masako's children and other wolf youkai, were trapped in wolf form. Still others were forced to live in rhythm to the cycle of the moon, ever changing between their youkai and their human forms.

"At times like that, when the talisman was stolen or misplaced, this family appointed a seeker to find the charm and bring it back to its rightful bearer."

Amy tilted her head, regarding the rustling branches at the edge of the clearing. She took a quick look at Rin and Derek, confirming that both were now sound asleep, before taking a deep breath and straightening up against the tree.

"You might as well come out of there." she said quietly. "The kids are asleep though, so don't you go waking them up, you hear me?"

Amy had to suppress a laugh as a small burr-covered youkai emerged from the brush with a glower on his face…and her knapsack over his shoulder. She inclined her head respectfully, if only to hide the laughter in her eyes.

"Would I be wrong to assume that you are the infamous Lord Jakken?" Amy took his continued silence for an affirmative. "Your little friend here has spoken quite fondly of you."

'_Was it just me, or did his face twitch when I said that?_' she mused. The imp had inched closer, keeping a wary eye on the lightly snoring wolf. "Come now, surely you are not afraid of a mere cub, Lord Jakken?" Amy teased. "His teeth are not _that_ sharp...yet."

The imp glared at her, slowly moving until he was just out of reach of her claws. He slid the knapsack off of his shoulder, tossing it towards her. Amy's hand automatically snapped out, reflexively grabbing the bag with her right hand. She winced as the force of the catch jolted up her arm and disturbed the still-healing wound.

"It has been many years," the imp began in a gravelly voice, "since this Jakken has heard the history of the Moon Wolf Clan discussed so casually." Amy's eyes widened in surprise, and she sat up straighter. The imp stood stiffly erect, his bulbous eyes boring into her own. "I also never thought that I would see the day that _that_ human would willingly curl up to sleep with anyone of wolf blood. You are full of surprises, hanyou."

The imp chuckled, a dry and unappealing sound, before settling himself just beyond Amy's feet. "I would suggest that you tend to your wounds, half-breed, and cease your gawking at this Jakken. Lord Sesshoumaru was very insistent that I bring you the medication that is in that bag." The imp quirked an eyebrow. "Though, I find it hard to believe that _your_ unique blood would require any extra help."

Amy blushed, and carefully opened the bag. "My arm will be fine, probably within the hour." she stated quietly. "My leg, on the other hand…the youkai I fought today had some sort of poison in its tentacles." She looked ruefully down at the rash that was now spreading around her wound, extending from her knee to her ankle. "Unfortunately, even my blood is having trouble neutralizing that youkai's poison. It didn't help when that corpse aggravated the wound."

She rustled in her bag, and carefully extracted her med-kit. Sighing softly, she removed a small brown bottle and uncorked it with her teeth. Dropping the cork back into her bag, she carefully poured the antitoxin into her wound, wincing as the potion bubbled up on her torn flesh. Ignoring the pain, she dug once more into her med-kit and extracted a tube of antihistamine cream. She liberally applied the cream to the rash until her reddened flesh ceased to itch.

She nodded in satisfaction, and returned her gaze to Jakken. "Though, with the help of this medicine, I should be back on my feet by dawn. You have my thanks, Lord Jakken, though I will admit to being curious as to how it is you came to be in possession of my belongings?"

The imp snorted, and settled himself more comfortably. "Lord Sesshoumaru found them, and ordered me to bring them to you. I can only surmise that he smelled your scent on the bag, and recognized that scent when we discovered you fighting with Kagura. Lord Sesshoumaru is a powerful youkai, and some have accused him justly of being cold and unfeeling. Yet it has been this Jakken's experience that he takes care of those who serve him willingly and well."

Jakken inclined his head towards the sleeping human. "Doubtless he did not think it honorable to allow you to die after rescuing one of his most loyal followers from certain death."

Amy looked at Jakken in disbelief, and spoke with pride in her voice. "This wound wouldn't have killed me. Slowed me down for a few days, perhaps, but it wouldn't have killed me."

Jakken shook his head. "Silly girl, not every hanyou is blessed with both the healing properties of youkai blood and the mystic energy of the human healers. Were you a mix of more inferior bloodlines, you'd have been dead hours ago. That youkai you tangled with today wasn't a normal water monster – it was a castoff of a much more powerful being."

Amy stared at the imp. "A castoff? But what…who, could have created a youkai such as that?"

The imp settled himself more comfortably. "Let me tell you of the despicable hanyou, Naraku…"

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Kagura walked slowly down the darkened hallway, carefully measuring each of her steps. It wouldn't do to appear anything less than calm, not after failing so miserably.

Not that she had _wanted_ to kidnap the girl. If anything, she was relieved that Naraku had been thwarted yet again. No, what she had truly _failed_ to do was to speak freely to Lord Sesshoumaru.

She paused outside the door, visibly collecting herself before roughly pushing the mat aside and entering the room. A lone figure sat in the corner, shadows draping his form like fine silk. A golden glint briefly showed itself in his hand before he tucked the bauble out of sight.

'_Hmph. I can't believe he still thinks that we do not know of this charm, or how he attained it.' _ Kagura thought in disgust. It wasn't as though they could have ignored the comings and goings of his new 'partner'.

True, the woman was quite secretive, never staying in the castle longer than a few minutes. Though what it was that Naraku had offered her in exchange for the powerful talisman, Kagura couldn't say. '_Whatever it was, it must have been worth it.'_ she thought glumly. Two months had passed since this partnership was forged, and in that two months Naraku's strength had grown in leaps and bounds. His need to absorb other youkai had all but disappeared, and the number of Kagura's 'siblings' had more than doubled.

Much worse, in Kagura's opinion, was that in those two months Naraku had never once reverted to his human form.

"Kagura." Her attention snapped back to the seated man, and she fought the urge to hide behind her fan. "Yet again, you have disappointed me." Her ribs suddenly constricted, and Kagura's knees hit the floor as she clutched her chest. She gazed with loathing at the hanyou who now held her heart in plain sight, choking as he tightened his grip. "Why is it that you keep failing me, Kagura?"

She gasped for breath, fighting not to fall completely on the ground. With a sigh, Naraku loosened his grip and allowed his servant to breathe freely once more. "Do you think she might be doing it on purpose, my dear?"

Kagura's head whipped up as a form emerged from behind Naraku. A cold figure stood gazing down at Kagura, her once-vibrant hair swaying slightly in an invisible breeze. "If you really think that she is deliberately defying you, then why is she still breathing, Naraku?"

The hanyou chuckled. "She has her uses…as do my other incarnates. Perhaps you can redeem yourself, Kagura." Naraku tightened his grip, causing Kagura to double over once more in pain.

As she gazed up at him in hate, Naraku spoke coldly and deliberately. "Tell us of the hanyou who came between you and the child."

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Naraku watched his minion limp out of the room, trying to hide how much he had drained her. '_Keh. Still hiding things after all of this time, Kagura? Really, I would think that you would know better by now.'_

The woman behind him was as still as the grave. "It _is_ her." she murmured, disbelief lacing her tone. "I did not think the council would be able to send anyone so quickly, let alone _her_." Naraku pretended to hide a yawn. "And this is bad…why?"

If anything, rage made the woman grow more still. "It is bad because she _knows_ me, dumb ass! For the Council to send _her_ means that…"

The woman froze as one of Naraku's tentacles snaked its way around her neck. Naraku slowly rose from the floor as his tentacle tapped the Shikon shard embedded in the woman's throat.

"Means what, Ingrid? That they know that you are no longer dead?"

The tentacle wrapped around the woman's throat and lifted her easily off of the floor. As Naraku gazed in pleasure at the now choking woman, his voice grew dark and menacing. "It would be far too easy for you to become dead in truth, Ingrid. A fact you would do well to remember when you are addressing me."

He waited until the woman ceased to struggle, and then dropped her onto the floor. Striding out of the room, he paused as he heard the woman's abused throat draw in breath.

"You promised." she hissed.

Naraku looked back over his shoulder, a cruel glint in his eyes. He stood gazing down at the prone woman, his right hand already lifting the doormat aside.

"Promised you what, Ingrid? Revenge?" He lifted his left hand, allowing the light to briefly caress the charm he held. "I would say that you had your revenge the moment this was removed from its former bearer."

The woman hissed. "You promised me they would all die!"

Naraku smiled cruelly, tucking the charm away once more. "I assure you, my dear, without this talisman they _will_ all die.

"Your living to see their deaths, however, was not a part of our bargain."

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Amy leaned back against the tree, aghast. "To have done such horrible things…" she murmured. "This Naraku truly is a despicable guy."

She absentmindedly ran her hand over the sleeping wolf as she pulled Rin in closer. She frowned as she felt the child shiver, and let go of the wolf long enough to root around in her knapsack. Smiling slightly in triumph, she pulled out an oversized sweatshirt that she draped around the girl. Pulling her close once more, she sighed in contentment and rested her chin on top of the girl's head.

Jakken watched her in silence. It was amazing the amount of care this hanyou put forth for the human child, all things considered. It would be too much to hope that the hanyou would take Rin off of his hands. As much as Jakken longed for a return to his Rin-free days with Lord Sesshoumaru, he knew firsthand how murderous the daiyoukai could be whenever someone threatened to take Rin away from him. "What Rin does is her own choice." he could almost hear Lord Sesshoumaru say. Jakken barely contained a snort at the thought. '_Yes, what she does is her own choice so long as what she _chooses_ to do is to remain with him._' he thought sourly.

"Lord Jakken?" The imp shook himself from his reverie, and looked the hanyou in the eyes.

"Yes, Lady Amaya?" he said gruffly.

The woman shifted as though uncomfortable, before blurting out "What is Lord Sesshoumaru like?"

The imp raised an eyebrow as the hanyou blushed. "That is, I mean…" she stuttered before regaining her composure. "I was sent to this land on a quest, Lord Jakken, and was led to believe that Kouga of the Wolf Tribes was the ruler of this particular territory. Your young friend here has informed me otherwise, and while I _do_ have Kouga's permission to search these lands, I do _not_ have Lord Sesshoumaru's." She hung her head, and then slowly looked up at Jakken, hope in her eyes. "Do you think that he will forgive my oversight and permit me to continue searching?"

"That would depend," a cool voice interrupted, "on what exactly it is that you are searching for, Amaya of the Moon Wolf Clan."

"My lord!" Jakken squawked, hastily scrambling up from his seat. Rin shifted and whimpered in her sleep as the young wolf started awake. "_Grrr-row-ow?_" he said sleepily. "_Go back to sleep, Derek. It'll be alright._" Amy murmured as she glared daggers at the overexcited imp.

"You could be quieter, you know. These kids need their rest!" she said in a low voice. To her chagrin, the imp didn't look the least bit penitent as he took up his accustomed station behind his master. Gently, Amaya disentangled herself from the sleeping children and, taking care with her injured leg, bent her knee to the taiyoukai.

"Forgive me, Lord Sesshoumaru, for not seeking you out sooner. I have come to these lands to retrieve an heirloom that was stolen from my clan."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow as he stared coldly down at the hanyou. His first impression of her – strong, intelligent, and possessing an unhealthy amount of mortal blood – appeared to be quite accurate. He had not been as far behind Jakken as he had let the imp believe, and had chosen to remain out of sight while his retainer approached the hanyou. She appeared to be well-mannered, if one did not count her intrusion into his domain. '_But how could it be,' _he pondered,_ 'that even a hanyou such as her would not know that these lands are mine? Could she be lying?_'

His eyes narrowed at the thought. "And what is it about this…heirloom…that would persuade this Sesshoumaru to give a worthless hanyou permission to traipse about in his domain?" Amy flushed, and forced herself not to rise to his bait. '_What a jerk!_' she thought in disgust.

"Were this heirloom to remain in unfit hands, this Sesshoumaru might find worse than this hanyou 'traipsing about' in his lands." She forced herself to speak calmly. "This Sesshoumaru might find youkai in his lands who would use this heirloom to challenge him for his domain. Perhaps even this despicable Naraku whom your retainer has so graciously informed me of."

Amy took a deep breath, and forged on. "Forgive this hanyou for being blunt, Lord Sesshoumaru, but it would not be wise for such an item of power to fall into the hands of a monster such as him, or any other of his ilk."

Sesshoumaru stared coldly at the still kneeling hanyou, his hand resting lightly on Tenseiga's hilt. The sword had begun to grow restless the closer he had come to the injured hanyou, forcing Sesshoumaru to remain a good distance from her. '_Tenseiga_,' Sesshoumaru thought curiously, '_what is it about this hanyou that disturbs you?_'

He quietly continued his perusal of the hanyou that had piqued the sword's interest. Wisps of her reddish-brown hair had escaped from her disheveled braid and obscured her pale, demurely down-turned face. She was still dressed in only the long, blood-spattered tunic that she had fought in, though this time her dagger remained in its sheath. The wound on her arm was visibly healing, as was the deeper wound in her leg. '_Tenseiga…is it her injuries that concern you, or just her blood?_'

He'd heard enough of her and Jakken's conversation to know exactly who – and what – the hanyou was. He quickly decided that the heirloom she was seeking was the fabled Talisman of the Moon – it was the only reason why a member of the elusive Moon Wolf Clan would have entered another youkai's domain with such haste. After all, the Talisman was rumored to give hanyous the power of full-blooded youkai or to even give youkai the ability to escape death by purification. Daiyoukai such as himself, of course, did not need to resort to such things to bolster their strength. But there were those in his domain who would find such a prize to be quite…tempting.

"And what," he spoke coldly, "makes you think that this Sesshoumaru could not handle such a…problem…on his own?"

Amy discretely drew in her breath and slowly exhaled. He was testing her now, she could smell it.

"This hanyou believes that this Lord Sesshoumaru would have no trouble dealing with such a problem if he chose to do so." She spoke softly, yet firmly. "However, the Moon Wolf Clan believes that this situation is their responsibility to resolve. As such, they have sent their most capable seeker to track down the thief and retrieve that which has been stolen from them."

Sesshoumaru continued to gaze coldly at the woman. "If the Moon Wolf Clan is so concerned over this heirloom's safety, they should not have allowed it to be taken. That they allowed this to happen does not inspire faith in this clan's abilities, or in its choice of seeker. Why should I allow you to roam my lands when I doubt your competency?"

Amy ground her teeth in frustration. "The heirloom's last protector," she stated in quiet fury, "gave his life trying to protect it. You have _no_ idea, Lord Sesshoumaru, of how far I have traveled in order to track this murdering thief down." She raised her head to glare through the wisps of her hair that covered her face. "Nor do you have any idea of what lengths I am willing to go to in order to retrieve this heirloom and avenge my fallen kinsman."

Sesshoumaru's breath hitched when she finally raised her eyes. '_Green,_' he thought faintly as Tenseiga gave off a strong pulse, before shaking himself and meeting her blazing gaze with his own chilling one. "Your words are not helping your cause, half-breed."

Amy shrugged, refusing to lower her heated gaze. "I am a hunter, Lord Sesshoumaru. Not a diplomat."

'_No kidding._' he thought sarcastically, tightening his hand on the hilt of his stirring sword. "Perhaps you should learn to be both, Amaya of the Moon Wolf Clan. What if your words persuade me not to permit your search of my domain?"

Amy stilled, her eyes cooling as her voice grew determined. "Necessity demands that I search your domain regardless of whether or not I have your permission, Lord Sesshoumaru. Honor prefers that I have your permission, but I cannot let its lack keep me from completing my quest."

Sesshoumaru felt his hackles rise at the hanyou's impertinence. '_How dare she!' _he raged internally_. 'Does she not know what I, Lord Sesshoumaru, am capable of?_'

Amy gasped as she found herself suspended in midair, the powerful youkai holding her aloft by her chin. A low rumble resounded from the youkai's chest as her hand reached for his, and she forced herself to lower the offending appendage. "You would do well, hanyou," his voice growled, "to remember to whom you are speaking. This Sesshoumaru does not suffer to be insulted thus."

"Most people find _deceit_ to be insulting, Lord Sesshoumaru." she choked out. "At least _I_ was being _honest._"

Their stare down lasted a few moments longer, Tenseiga's pulse reverberating up Sesshoumaru's arm and gently vibrating the hanyou's chin. Sesshoumaru delicately sniffed the air around the offending hanyou. What he found caused his eyes to widen imperceptibly, and he unceremoniously dropped the woman.

'_Tenseiga…her wounds are healing faster now, yet you did not cut her. How?_' he thought in wonder.

With a yelp, the woman landed on her rear before scrambling to stand, wincing as she forced her bad leg to bear some of her weight. Sesshoumaru observed her in silence, waiting until her furious gaze locked once more with his.

"Your scent is filled with fear of me, hanyou," he stated quietly, "and yet you still dare to defy me. Why is this?"

Amy forced herself to breathe slowly, calmly. "Not even four hours ago, I witnessed you tearing full-blooded youkai warriors apart with your bare claws. Only a fool would not fear you after a display like that."

She paused, and Sesshoumaru forced himself to be patient. "However," she resumed softly, "I am more afraid of what will happen if my family's heirloom is not retrieved."

Sesshoumaru held her gaze, testing her will, her resolve. He briefly contemplated ordering her out of his lands, before an angry pulse from Tenseiga persuaded him to reconsider. '_Tenseiga…I will humor you. But I will also find out what it is about this hanyou that…attracts you._'

The daiyoukai slowly nodded his head. "You may search my lands, half-breed. But I cannot allow you to wander these lands without supervision." His gaze pointedly dipped to her wounded leg before returning to her outraged eyes. "Already, the scent of your youkai blood is fading. You have merely a few days before you revert completely to your human form, do you not?"

The woman nodded tersely, pissed that her little secret had been so easily sniffed out. "I have until the new moon, and then I will have to spend one full day as a human, yes."

Sesshoumaru nodded, barely hiding a satisfied smirk. "Even with youkai-blood, you are unable to keep yourself from injury, hanyou. You should consider yourself privileged that I, Sesshoumaru, am deigning to accompany you on this quest."

A frown marred the woman's face. "I didn't ask for your help, Lord Sesshoumaru."

Jakken looked furiously from his master to the offending half-breed, his anger having grown throughout the two's exchange. He couldn't take it anymore! How dare this lowly, unworthy scum speak with such disrespect to his beloved master?

"You ungrateful hanyou!" Jakken shrieked. "How dare you speak in such a manner to Lord Sesshoumaru! Especially after he so graciously saved you from Naraku's minions!"

The imp waved his Staff of Heads threateningly at the hanyou, who bared a fang and growled at the annoying retainer. "He was saving _Rin_, you jackass. His rescuing of me was…"

"Incidental." Sesshoumaru interrupted in a deadly voice, stopping both in their tracks. "This _hanyou_ rescued Rin after _you_ fled in fear, Jakken. Her injuries were gained while protecting Rin in _your_ stead. Were it not for _you_ shirking _your_ duty, this _hanyou_ would never have been in danger from Naraku's minions." The imp shrunk back, hiding behind his Staff of Heads. "_You_ should show her more respect."

"Of course," the imp murmured softly, the very picture of contrition. "Forgive me, Lady Amaya."

The hanyou sniffed, casting a glance at the sleeping children. "I will forgive you this time, Jakken, but be thankful you didn't wake those two up."

As Jakken backed off, grumbling softly about overbearing, ungrateful hanyous, Amaya mulled over Sesshoumaru's words. _'So he intends to accompany me, hmm?' _she thought glumly. _'This certainly changes things a bit. I can't tell him everything…at least, not yet. Boy, I can just see it now: Gee, Lord Sesshoumaru, I didn't just travel here from a whole 'nother land, I traveled here from a whole 'nother century. And half the reason I have to retrieve the Talisman of the Moon is so that I can seal the portal that I used to travel here. Oh, did I forget to mention that if I don't do it by the next full moon, the portal will stay open permanently, allowing the deranged bitch who stole the Talisman to lead whole youkai armies from this century into mine? Did I mention that the woman who stole it was supposed to be dead and rotting in her grave, and had been for almost a century?' _Amy snorted at her thoughts, earning an annoyed look from the youkai lord. '_Yeah, I wouldn't sound completely crazy if I told him that, really…'_

"You don't need to do this, you know." Amy said quietly.

Sesshoumaru smirked. "Of course not. This Sesshoumaru does not _need _to do anything." he said, a touch of both pride and annoyance in his voice.

Amy looked at him in curiosity. "Then why are you?"

Sesshoumaru nodded towards the sleeping children. "You saved her. Why did you choose to do that?"

Amy shrugged defensively. "She's just a kid; I couldn't just stand by and let her get killed. Besides, why not?"

Sesshoumaru gazed out at the gradually lightening sky. "Why not, indeed?"

As the hanyou looked at him in confusion, Sesshoumaru made up his mind. "Rest, hanyou. When your wounds have healed, we shall move out from this place…and track down your thief."

'_Tenseiga…I will discover what there is between you and this…female._' he swore silently to himself.

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_A/N: Well, how was it? It seemed a little choppy to me, but I did what I could to polish it up._

_Btw, my goal when writing these chapters is not to release a chapter until it has surpassed 5,000 words. So it will probably be about 3 weeks between each of my updates. On the upside, I think I might have figured out how this story will end, which is always a good thing, lol._


	4. Discourse

_**Disclaimer**: **InuYasha** is still not mine. _

_This will, of course, change once I and my flying ninja monkeys conquer the Earth._

_Yet again, this story is rated **R** for language and violence. What can I say, my Amy is a potty-mouth, and Sesshoumaru…well, we all know how Sesshoumaru is. There's also some nudity, but nothing graphically described._

_**A/N: ** Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! Sorry this chapter is coming out later than I would have liked – I got WAY too caught up in the home-made gifts that I had to have done in time for Christmas (it's kind of hard to type when your fingers are busy crocheting scarves…)_

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**Discourse**

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"Whaddya mean, she's gone!" Kouga demanded.

Ginta and Hakkaku shifted uncomfortably under their fearless leader's gaze. "Just that, Kouga!" Ginta exclaimed. "Yesterday morning, she was still in our territory."

"By noon, she and her cub had taken off." Hakkaku added.

Kouga stared, eyes narrowed, at his faithful lieutenants. "Why didn't you keep an eye on her like I ordered you to?"

The two wolves continued to squirm under his steely gaze. "Ah, well, you see, Kouga…" Ginta faltered.

"The idiot jumped off of a cliff, Kouga." Hakkaku stated bluntly.

"What!" he roared.

"She landed safely, Kouga!" Ginta hastened to assure his leader. "There was a lake below the cliff."

"Of course," Hakkaku mused as Kouga began to relax, "there was that water youkai that she attacked."

Ginta jumped in as Kouga's face began to turn an odd shade of purple. "She stole its prey, Kouga, a young human girl. The water youkai was quite injured, but she did not appear to be any the worse for wear."

"Except for that burn on her leg." Hakkaku added darkly.

Ginta lost his patience, and smacked Hakkaku upside the head. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" Hakkaku growled. Ginta nodded wordlessly at the silently fuming Kouga.

"Oh." Hakkaku said meekly.

Kouga fought to keep his temper under control. "Why didn't you two go after her?"

"Kouga," Ginta began, speaking in as soothing a tone as he could muster, "you ordered us to remain out of sight. If we were to continue following her, we would have had to make our presence known."

"Which you forbade us from doing, remember?" Hakkaku added quickly.

"Besides," Ginta continued, "we don't think she's traveling alone anymore."

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"Hello? Are you listening to me? I said I'm going hunting, Lord Sesshoumaru."

The tall youkai continued to ignore her, and Amy fought the urge to wave her hands in front of his still face. '_Geez, he could at least_ acknowledge_ my presence. Ass._' She shrugged, and began to move into the underbrush.

"You cannot possibly require food yet, hanyou." Sesshoumaru's chill voice stilled her feet, even as her head turned to coolly regard the still-seated youkai.

"No," she replied stiffly, "_I_ do not. However," she inclined her head towards the still-sleeping younglings, "those two will when they wake up. In case you haven't noticed, children need to eat more often than adults. Human children especially – your Rin is hardy, but she _is_ showing the early signs of malnutrition, Lord Sesshoumaru. A good, _daily_ morning meal would go a long way towards maintaining her health."

She turned to move back into the woods, startled when a clawed hand grabbed her newly-healed arm and yanked her back into the clearing. Sesshoumaru gazed coolly down at her, his face unanimated except for a reproving look in his eyes. "You reek of dead blood, hanyou." The fastidious youkai wrinkled his nose. "There is a hot spring near here. Go bathe yourself – I will hunt."

As Amy gazed at him in shock, Sesshoumaru released her arm and melted into the woods. '_Wait a second…just he just say that I'm _stinky' she thought in outrage.

"Hey! Sesshoumaru!" she yelled. "Bring back some fruit or vegetables, will ya?"

'_You smell…I'll show him who _smells_…the ass._' she fumed as she gathered her bathing supplies, glaring at the snoring Jakken. "Hey! Jakken!" she whispered fiercely as she toed him in the side.

"Snn..huh, what? Are we under attack?" The sleepy imp jumped up, Staff of Heads at the ready.

"No." Amy said sourly. "Lord Sesshoumaru has gone hunting, and has 'suggested' that I go take a bath. That leaves you to watch the kids, Jakken."

Amy followed her nose out of the clearing, ignoring Jakken as he grumbled about being turned into a babysitter. Once out of sight, she casually lifted her arm and sniffed. '_Phew_!' she thought in disgust. '_Okay, maybe I can't really call him an ass…but he could have been more tactful about it!_' she fumed.

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So just what did humans – and meddling hanyous - consider to be 'nutritious', anyway?

This was the question plaguing Sesshoumaru as he began to scour the woods. He'd never paid much attention to what Rin considered edible. He knew, all too well from past experience, that he and human food didn't get along. '_Rice. Ick. Only a human could eat that swill _and_ enjoy it!' _he thought in disgust.

'_And just look at them…weak, pathetic. As insubstantial as what they consume._ _No,_' he decided, '_if Rin is to grow strong, she needs what any growing pup needs – meat._'

He paused in the dense forest, letting the wind carry its hidden message to his nose. A slow smile spread across his lips as it practically whispered in his ear, telling him where he could find _proper_ food for his Rin.

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Amy sank deeper into the hot water. '_Mmm…five more minutes, then out with the soap._' she promised herself, lazily examining her healing limbs.

The cut on her arm was fully healed, if still a bit itchy. The flesh of her leg was being a bit more stubborn. The wound itself had finally begun to shrink, but the meat surrounding it was still showing mild shades of purple and red. '_At this rate,_' Amy thought glumly, '_it'll be noon before we end up going anywhere._'

Amy sighed, and reached for the soap. She didn't want to think about how long it was taking her to heal, or how long she was going to be stuck traveling with Lord Frostbite. '_Honestly, is that man incapable of smiling? Would it kill him to laugh?_' she thought sourly. Amy considered herself to be an easygoing person, but after a mere few hours in the youkai lord's presence, her patience was stretched thin.

And all he'd done was to stare at her. Stared at her while she tried to sleep, stared at her as the sun found its way over the horizon, and he'd continued his staring for nearly an hour before she'd finally had enough and declared she was going to look for food. '_What is his_ problem_, anyway_?' she wondered.

She stretched her leg out of the water, carefully applying soap between her toes. '_You'd think he'd never seen a hanyou before, the way he was looking at me. And what was up with that weird jolt of energy? It wasn't his youki, that's for damn sure – it felt way too pleasant to have come from that jerk!_'

'_Besides,_' she thought as she dipped her foot back into the water, '_he had WAY too much of a surprised look in his eyes for him to have done that on purpose._' Amy shifted her weight carefully, pulling her leg out enough to examine the wound on her calf.

She hadn't imagined it – the wound had truly begun to heal with that energy surge. Despite her sudden bout of pessimism, the irritation was really almost gone, and the wound itself was beginning to flesh out. '_I don't think there will even be a scar._' she thought, pleased.

Amy suppressed a yawn, reaching for her bottle of shampoo. '_That's enough thinking, girl._' she scolded herself. '_If I don't finish this up quick, I'm gonna fall asleep in here…and the last thing I need is for Lord Frosty to come looking for me!_'

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"So, remind me why it is that we're out here again?" Hakkaku grumbled. Ginta rolled his eyes. Figures that his brother would choose to act so dumb over a situation that _he_ had helped to create.

"We're looking for the princess, remember?" Ginta scolded. "You remember –red hair, green eyes, great legs?"

"Funny accent, weird taste in clothes, extremely rude? Yeah, Ginta, I know who we're looking for. What I asked is '_why_'? Why are we looking for that mutt?" Hakkaku growled back.

Ginta counted slowly to ten. "Because Kouga promised to watch out for her, remember? If anything happens to her…" he paused ominously, "you can say 'good-bye' to the treaty between our tribe and the Moon Wolf Clan. They're some of our fiercest allies!"

"Ha." Hakkaku said dismissively. "A clan of half-breeds. Who needs 'em?"

Ginta rolled his eyes. He had the feeling that Hakkaku wasn't as put out as he appeared to be – the visiting princess had made more of an impression on his brother than she had on any other of Kouga's wolves.

It was just too bad that the biggest impression she had made was that of her fist on Hakkaku's face.

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Sesshoumaru looked at the deceased sika, allowing the corners of his mouth to turn up in the slightest of smiles even as he rolled his injured left shoulder in irritation. '_It should have been a clean kill, damnit._' It had been pure luck that the sika had been able to gore him. At least it had gone for his empty sleeve, allowing Sesshoumaru time to feint and quickly sever the beast's spine with his claws.

He gathered up his kill, casually swinging the carcass over his shoulder. '_This should keep that hanyou from complaining for a while._' he thought smugly as he began to walk back towards his retainer and faithful ward.

He hadn't traveled far before he smelled water and heard someone mumbling. Curious, he stalked closer.

Peering through the trees, he was surprised to discover the wolf hanyou, partially dressed and muttering to herself in another language.

She had obviously taken advantage of the hot spring, and Sesshoumaru felt a spark of satisfaction that she had followed his orders. He inhaled deeply, savoring her scent now that it was…unfettered.

'_Wolf musk, there's no hiding that, though it is faint now that she's cleansed herself. Perhaps it is merely lingering on her clothing?' _he mused, slowly exhaling and allowing the next breath to caress his tongue. _' There is also…something floral? Yes…jasmine. But so faint…and something else, diluting the scent…rain, perhaps? Yes…hers is the scent of jasmine blossoms in a rainstorm._' he decided, giving himself a mental pat on the back.

It was a soothing combination to the dog youkai's sensitive nose. Pleasant, yet not overpowering as so many of the perfumes favored by the denizens of the high youkai courts could be.

'_Clean._' he declared to himself. '_She smells clean._'

She had obviously just emerged from the spring. She wore nothing but a strange set of flimsy undergarments, and seemed to be in the process of toweling her long hair dry. Sesshoumaru allowed his eyes to rove appreciatively over her trim form. Barely reaching his shoulder in height, the hanyou had a stockier frame than most of the females he normally encountered, but she was still quite small compared to him. Her skin gleamed with health, and her hard-earned muscles betrayed their presence only as she moved, their twitches rippling along her luminescent skin. Sesshoumaru frowned as his eyes focused on a thin white line that started on her right shoulder and curled down to rest in the small of her back. '_A scar?_' he realized with a start. '_But what injury could have been so great as to permanently mark a Moon Wolf?_'

She had pulled on a fresh undershirt and had just begun to step into a pair of black pants when Sesshoumaru realized what, exactly, it was that he was doing. '_Spying on a bathing female…a bathing _hanyou_, no less…what is wrong with me? Such behavior is beneath this Sesshoumaru._' he thought in disgust as he turned on his heel and prepared to walk away.

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She was getting dressed when she heard it. A sharp crack, the rustle of leaves. Something had stepped on a twig in the woods just behind her.

"_Shit!_" she swore softly as she hurriedly finished fastening her cargo pants.

"Hey!" she yelled fiercely. "Who's out there?"

Her hand itched for the dagger lying but a few feet away, next to her bathing supplies. She settled for taking a defensive stance as the bushes next to her parted…

And revealed Lord Sesshoumaru with a dead deer slung over his shoulder.

"Hanyou," he said in a deadpan voice, "do you always make so much noise when you bathe?"

Amy fought down a blush, pulled herself out of her defensive stance, and stared at the cold lord with her arms crossed. "Hmph! Do you always sneak up on people when they are bathing, youkai?"

Their stare down lasted a few moments longer before Sesshoumaru shrugged, turned on his heel, and began to walk away. "If you are finished, hanyou," he said without looking back, "I would suggest that you come get breakfast."

Amy stared, fuming, at the retreating youkai's back. '_The nerve of him!_' she thought. '_How dare he order me around like that! And what if I'd still been bathing when he sought me out? Why, I oughta…wait a minute, what if he _did_ show up while I was still bathing, and just waited until I was dressed to announce himself? Eep!_' she thought in mortification.

Sesshoumaru allowed a smirk to cross his face as he heard the hanyou scramble to collect her supplies. Her emotions had played like a sweet melody along her scent, the undertones ranging from outrage to horror, and then to outright embarrassment.

'_Tenseiga,_' he thought bemusedly, '_at least the females you collect are…entertaining._'

It didn't take long for the hanyou to catch up, remaining a step behind and a step aside of his left side. She wrinkled her nose as she looked at the dead deer. It was shocking that Sesshoumaru didn't have a trail of blood down his back, the way he was carrying it. '_Must've bled it out,_' she thought, '_though I didn't think it was possible to bleed even a sika in less than a few hours._' She craned her neck skyward, checking out the sun's position.

It was still fairly early in the morning, though dawn had come and gone two hours previous. '_I guess breakfast would still be a good word, though by the time I get some of that cooked for Rin a better term might be brunch._' she thought grumpily. She tried to stifle a yawn, not missing the glance Sesshoumaru gave her from the corner of his eye.

"Why did you not sleep while you had the chance, hanyou?" he said quietly, so quietly that Amy's ears had to strain to hear him. Her back stiffened as she retorted, "I could not escape the feeling that I was being watched, youkai. I wonder; would you have fallen asleep while being stared at by a stranger?"

Amy held her breath as the proud youkai straightened his back even further. "No." he conceded. "This Sesshoumaru would not have."

They continued to walk in silence, Amy trying carefully not to stare at the youkai in front of her. '_Must not be far now…wow, for an icy kind of guy, Frosty here sure has a nice ass…whoa! Where did _that_ thought come from? Bad Amy, bad girl!' _she scolded herself. '_No lusting after the arrogant youkai guy! It's not like you have the option of sticking around him for long anyway, remember?' _She shook her head slightly, trying to clear it of such wayward thoughts.

Sesshoumaru was pulled out of his own musings by a faint thrum of energy from Tenseiga. Glancing at the hanyou, he caught the small smile on her face being replaced by a faint scowl as she gave her head a slight shake. '_What is running through her mind, I wonder, to cause such a change?_' he pondered.

"Hanyou." he spoke suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Hmm? What…ack!" Amy looked up to see the dead sika sailing through the air towards her. Quickly dropping her bag, she held her arms out, barely keeping the animal from hitting the ground. "Hey! What did you do that for?" she demanded angrily.

He gave her a scathing look as he continued walking. "You wanted to feed the children, did you not, hanyou? We are almost back to the clearing."

She stood staring at him, eyebrow twitching, as he continued walking. '_Why you…_' she thought angrily, hefting the heavy animal over her right shoulder and collecting her bag with her left hand. "_Egotistical bastard…_" she muttered under her breath as soon as the youkai in question was out of hearing range.

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They'd been walking for nearly half a day before Amy noticed it.

It had started as a small dark spot, slowly spreading out from beneath Sesshoumaru's armor until it widened into a palm-sized patch of red on the youkai's white-clad back.

Now the arrogant lord was sitting on a rock in the middle of nowhere, his haori was soaking in a nearby icy stream, his human was running around the woods playing "Fetch the Staff of Heads" with a wolf cub, his retainer was chasing the children and screeching every five seconds for them to behave, all while an irate hanyou was brutally examining his shoulder and relentlessly assaulting his ears.

"You should have told me you were hurt." Amy ground out through clenched teeth. Sesshoumaru let out an irritated "Hmph," and casually turned his head away from the hanyou's furious eyes.

Amy sat behind the larger youkai, carefully examining the wound. The entry point on the youkai's chest had healed without a trace. The problem was the sliver of antler that had remained in the wound and was now slowly being expelled from Sesshoumaru's body via his back. The sliver was sticking halfway out, preventing the new wound from closing fully

"What did you plan to do? Walk around all day with a piece of deer bone sticking out of your back?" Amy said snidely as she carefully extracted the offending sliver.

Sesshoumaru stiffened in resentment. "It was not life-threatening, and it was nothing that my body could not heal. You worry too much over a mere annoyance, hanyou."

Amy resisted the urge to smack Sesshoumaru upside the head. "And what if that deer had gotten you lower down? In your belly, for instance? Sure, for you it would have been nothing more than a 'mere annoyance', but you still would have been aggravated for _days_ as that shard worked its way through your bowels."

"Besides," she sniffed, laying her palm flat against the torn flesh of his shoulder, "it's stupid to allow yourself to remain injured when you have someone like _me _around."

Amy concentrated, carefully focusing her chi into the palm of her hand. '_Careful now, don't want to burn the arrogant, stubborn pig._' she cautioned herself, as the healthy energy of her chi sought to balance that of the injured youkai. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her mental picture of his chi, using her own to soothe his. She frowned as she felt his chi twist, flowing jerkily in fractured spurts. '_What the hell? It feels like there's a drain on his chi, and yet…something is pumping more energy into him to make up for the lack.' _She opened her eyes a slit, allowing herself a swift look at where his upper arm ended in a stub. '_Could his body be trying to grow a new arm?_' she wondered. '_I thought such a thing was impossible, even for a daiyoukai. Not without gathering massive amounts of energy…unless…_' Amy concentrated deeper. Something was definitely pumping more energy into her unwilling patient, but she couldn't quite pinpoint where the energy was coming from.

'_This energy,_' she mused, '_it tastes…it tastes _familiar.'

With a start, Amy pulled her hand away from Sesshoumaru's healing flesh. '_It's the same energy that healed my leg._' she realized. '_But where is it coming from?_'

Shaking herself, Amy watched in satisfaction as the wound finished closing. "So, what happened to your arm, anyway?" she inquired in a cheery voice.

One golden eye glared at her through a veil of silver as the dog lord moved his head the barest of inches. "I lost it."

Amy rolled her eyes, ignoring the stiffened set of Sesshoumaru's shoulders. "No kidding. How'd you lose it?"

"You ask a lot of questions, hanyou." Sesshoumaru swiftly stood, his hair billowing out and brushing the hanyou's face as he began to walk towards the children.

"Never ask, never learn." Amy said quietly.

Sesshoumaru paused. "What was that?"

Amy shrugged. "Something my big brother used to tell me. 'Never ask, never learn.' If you want to know something, but are too scared to ask about it, you'll never find out what it was that you wanted to know."

Sesshoumaru inclined his head the barest fraction of an inch, still refusing to look at the hanyou. "And why is it that you wanted to know about my arm?"

Amy sighed. '_How am I going to explain this to him?_'

"Something strange is going on with your life-force. It's almost like..." she paused, trying to find the proper words to express what she had felt. "Well, it's odd, okay? It almost felt like your body was trying to regenerate the missing limb, which should be impossible. The energy drain alone would kill you long before the limb had been able to regenerate."

Amy stood up, carefully brushing away the dirt and leaves that had accumulated on her pants. "But the weird thing? The really weird thing? _Something_ is pumping energy into you. Something is compensating for your energy loss so that you don't die."

She walked towards the still youkai, turning her head as she came abreast of him and he began to walk next to her. "Do you know what it was that shocked me when you, ah, grabbed me last night?"

Sesshoumaru allowed his gaze to fall coolly upon his unwilling companion. Her scent had traces of nervousness, mixed with determination. '_She doesn't like reminding me of that, and yet she still asks._' he realized. '_How…odd._'

Sesshoumaru was startled to discover a look of expectation on the hanyou's face, though she was trying to be subtle about it. Her hair, swinging loose today, prevented him from seeing her eyes as they undoubtedly examined his own expression.

"Tenseiga." he said shortly, laying his palm protectively on the katana's hilt. "This blade has the power to restore life to those it chooses. It would appear that it has decided to protect me from myself." he said dryly.

The two walked in companionable silence, stopping to regard the wolf and child as they chased Jakken in and out of the icy stream. With surprising speed, Amy managed to retrieve Sesshoumaru's haori from the stream before it became covered with muddy pawprints, and carefully began to squeeze the water from the heavy cloth. Satisfied that the blood stain had been rinsed out, she hung it over a convenient branch to dry.

"So why did it try to heal me?" Amy wondered aloud. "I wasn't in any danger of dying." At the youkai's slight snort, she amended, "Well, not from my _wounds_, at any rate."

"Tenseiga has a will of its own." Sesshoumaru admitted grudgingly. "It often chooses when it will…and when it will not…be used." He snorted. "All in all, a damn useless sword."

Amy stared at him, her eyebrow quirking up in interest. "Useless? What makes you say that?"

Sesshoumaru coolly regarded the hanyou, disgust lacing his tones. "Tenseiga is a sword of healing and resurrection. What good is a sword that cannot kill?"

Amy stared at him in shock, her mouth hanging slightly open before she shook herself. "Any sword can _take_ life, Sesshoumaru. How many can give it back?"

Sesshoumaru snorted. "You forget, hanyou, Tenseiga only _gives_ back life when it chooses to. What use is a sword that cannot be controlled?"

"_Cannot_ be controlled, Lord Sesshoumaru? Or simply _chooses_ not to be controlled?" Amy said sharply. "Perhaps you haven't been sweet-talking it enough?"

"What are you getting at, hanyou?" Sesshoumaru growled. Amy looked at his red-tinged eyes and gulped, forcing herself not to take a step back. '_Note to Self: Never insult a daiyoukai's relationship with his sword._' she thought wryly.

"I'm saying that force isn't the best way to accomplish everything." she retorted. "Obviously you value Tenseiga, despite its apparent lack of usefulness, or you wouldn't carry it around with that jyaki-infested broadsword of yours. So perhaps instead of trying to _force_ Tenseiga to do what you want, you should learn to make Tenseiga _choose_ to do what you want."

"And perhaps you should not speak of things when you obviously have no idea what you are talking about, hanyou." Sesshoumaru growled.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Lord Sesshoumaru. In case you haven't noticed, the day isn't getting any longer. We don't exactly have a lot of time to argue right now."

Sesshoumaru forced himself not to strangle the impudent hanyou as she began to walk haughtily away from him. Grabbing his still-soaked haori from the tree, he hastily pulled it on before following the female. '_Irritating wench…how dare she start an argument with me and then act like she had nothing to do with it?_' he fumed.

He glanced down at the silent katana resting on his hip. '_Tenseiga…whatever has you interested in her had best be worth it._' The katana thrummed, its faint pulse causing his untied haori to ripple. '_Oh? You think so, hmm?_' Sesshoumaru thought faintly, his attention caught by the sight ahead of him.

The hanyou had finally approached the children, confiscating the Staff of Heads and handing it back to Jakken. "So!" she said brightly. "Are you two ready to get going again?"

The wolf barked and began trotting ahead, looking over his shoulder to make sure his companions were following. Rin and the hanyou began to walk hand-in-hand, doing some complicated skipping thing that would be bound to have the child exhausted within a few minutes.

Sesshoumaru shook his head, restraining a smile as a grumbling Jakken resumed walking at his heels. '_I will never understand what that child sees in that…that…_woman' he thought in disbelief.

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Dusk had fallen, and the hanyou insisted on pressing forward, regardless. Rin lay cuddled on her back, the hanyou's hair her blanket, the strands puffing out from her steady breath the only sign that she was still alive under the shining mass.

"Tomorrow is going to be a bad day." the hanyou murmured.

"How so?" the youkai answered back, the bass in his soft voice causing shivers to run down her spine.

Amy smiled wryly at him. "Can't you smell it? Already, most of my youkai senses are gone. With the dawn, I will be completely human."

They walked a little further in companionable silence before Sesshoumaru's curiosity got the better of him. "What is it like?" he said quietly. Amy looked at him with startled eyes. "What's what like?"

Sesshoumaru rolled his shoulders in what Amy was quickly coming to recognize as his version of a shrug. "Losing yourself. Becoming weak…becoming…_human._"

Amy chuckled, her low laugh disturbing the little girl on her back. Rin burrowed deeper into Amy's hair, and the hanyou waited for the girl's breathing to even out before answering the taiyoukai.

"Well, I wouldn't say that I was losing myself." she said in amusement. "The senses become less sharp, true, but with the proper training they're not that bad. My fangs and claws disappear, but they're not that noticeable normally, anyway. On the upside, my healing powers grow stronger as my youkai blood fades. So it's really a pretty even trade."

She shook her head as Sesshoumaru thought over her words. "So why will tomorrow be a bad day?" he murmured.

Amy smiled grimly. "Because tomorrow's the day our quarry will come hunting us."

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_A/N: Sorry for ending it there guys, but I'm suffering from a mild case of writer's block, and I really wanted to get this chapter out by Christmas. (As Fanfiction . Net will no doubt show, I'm about fifteen minutes too late for that)._

_The ending of this chapter might end up getting revamped before the next chapter comes out, just because I didn't really get a chance to edit it._

_Now if you'll excuse me, there's a couple Excedrin pills with my name on them..._


	5. New Moon

_**Disclaimer: **Still don't own it. Those ninja monkeys are lazy. _

_**A/N**: Okay, I'm bending my "No Japanese words" unless necessary rule. "Aniki" is used in the Seven Man Army episodes as "Older Brother", and I've stolen it for Amy to use as a nickname for her deceased elder half-brother. It won't get used very often since he's, well, dead and all…I also use the word "Nee-san", which means "Sister". One of the reasons I chose to keep the Japanese words is because we English speakers tend to refer to our siblings by name, not title. Just saying "Brother" or "Sister" instead of a name seems…well, weird to me. Culture clash at its best, I suppose._

_As for the rest of the Japanese words that ended up in this chapter, I'll explain at the end because I don't want to give some of the surprise away._

_Now, without further ado…_

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**New Moon**

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"_ANIKI! NO!" Amy screamed, frantically clawing at the short sword that pinned her shoulder to the ground._

_Keiji slumped over in death, his severed head falling as the blood from his death wound coated the ground. His murderer stood over his corpse, laughing maniacally. _

_In one hand her brother's attacker held his pride._

_In the other, she held his duty._

"_Why?" Amy screamed, energy sapping from her limbs as she began to violently revert to her human form. "Why!"_

_Eyes wreathed in flame stared mercilessly at her. "Why?" the murderer spat back. "Revenge, you filthy beast! Sooner or later, everything comes back to revenge."_

_Growling, Amy ripped the blade from her shoulder and charged the older woman. With a snort, the murderer deflected her clumsy attack and dealt Amy a stunning blow, her stolen blade carving a neat slice across the girl's back, all but severing her spine._

"_Now, now." she purred at the nearly unconscious girl. "Don't go seeking death, dear."_

_The woman turned to leave, gathering her cloak of illusions more tightly about her._

"_After all, it doesn't give all of us back so easily."_

_Amy lay on the ground, helpless, barely able to detect her attacker, let alone pursue her as she faded into the mist. That scent…that awful, acrid stench…even with her weak human nose, she would _never_ forget it._

_The scent that had taken Father._

_The scent that had taken Mother._

_The scent that had now taken Keiji._

"_NEVER!" she howled._

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Rin stared up at Amy. She'd been twitching for over an hour, mumbling in a strange language.

"Do you think we should let her stay up there?" she whispered.

The wolf hanyou at her side shrugged, his dark furry ears twitching as he followed Rin's line of sight. "It's not the first time Aunt Amy's had a nightmare in a tree. She'll be okay…well, unless she starts screaming."

Rin looked up with wide eyes. "She screams?"

The hanyou looked down at her. "Only sometimes. Aunt Amy's seen some bad stuff, but she's really strong, you know?"

Rin's chest puffed out in pride. "Bet she's not as strong as Lord Sesshoumaru."

"Ha! I bet she's WAY stronger than Lord Sesshoumaru!" Derek taunted back.

"Is not!" Rin yelled.

"Is too!" Derek retorted.

"Is NOT!" Rin screamed, her nose an inch from Derek's.

"Is. Too." the hanyou ground out between clenched fangs.

Rin growled in frustration, the young hanyou taking a step back as the smaller girl launched herself in the air and tackled him. Dust billowed around the wrestling children, the only sign they were alive the 'Is not's and 'Is too's that emerged from the rising cloud.

"_Enough._" A calm voice froze the children in their tracks, both looking up in fear at an annoyed Sesshoumaru. Rin jumped to her feet, quickly brushing her kimono off as Derek lay stunned on the ground.

"Yes, my lord!" she chirped, gazing adoringly up at the tall youkai.

"Rin." he said sternly. "What have I told you about attacking other children?"

"Umm…" The child suddenly became entranced with her bare toes, which were spontaneously drawing fascinating designs in the dust. "Go for the eyes?" she said hopefully.

Sesshoumaru snorted. "No, you do _that_ when other children attack you. What did I tell you about fighting with other children?"

Rin hung her head. "Not to start fights without a good reason."

"And?" Sesshoumaru prompted.

Rin looked questioningly up at her idol.

"Did you attack Derek for a good reason? Or just because you were frustrated?" Sesshoumaru asked patiently.

"Because I was frustrated." Rin whispered.

"And now…?" Sesshoumaru said gently.

Rin looked sheepishly at Derek, whose ears hadn't stopped twitching in amazement. "Sorry, Derek."

The hanyou carefully stood up, slowly brushing the dust from his clothes. "S'alright, Rin. I did sort've egg you on, I guess."

"Aw, how very fatherly of you, Sesshoumaru. Getting the children to play nice?"

Kagura stepped out from the concealing woods, her fan held protectively in front of her. Rin yelped and dove behind Derek, whose ears flattened as he growled at the wind youkai, one clawed hand reaching back protectively towards Rin.

Sesshoumaru looked calmly at the annoying female, his hand not even twitching towards Tokijin. "Are you off your leash today, Kagura, or do I owe this visit to Naraku?"

Kagura scowled. "I'm 'off the leash', if you must know. I have some…interesting information for you."

"And what would this information be?" Sesshoumaru stated coolly, his expression the epitome of boredom.

"Naraku has taken on a new partner." Kagura smirked. "An undead human woman who has, if I overheard correctly, had past involvements with your newest companions."

"And this would interest me…why?" Sesshoumaru's voice grew icier, his eyes matching his tone even though the bored expression never left his face.

Kagura lazily drew patterns in the air with her fan, amused at how the hanyou boy's eyes followed her weapon's idle movements even as the human girl began to overcome her nervousness enough to peek over his shoulder at her.

"Well, it doesn't involve you, directly…" Kagura drawled, changing the speed of her movements just to see the boy twitch. "However, I can see why your new lady friend would want to track down Naraku's latest acquisitions. His new partner gave him a pair of very nice gifts - a sword that sucks the will to fight from his opponents, and a charming little ring that keeps him from turning human once a month."

"I still do not see why this would interest me, Kagura."

Kagura flicked her fan in annoyance. "He's up to something, Sesshoumaru. He's been rebuilding his armies of youkai, yet he has all but stopped chasing the last pieces of the Shikon Jewel. I overheard him and his new lieutenant going over battle plans. They're planning something - something big. But it doesn't sound like he's planning to attack any of the lords _here_."

"No, he wouldn't be." a soft voice intruded. Amy emerged from behind the tree, her hand resting briefly on Derek's shoulder as she passed him by to stand at Sesshoumaru's side.

Her brown eyes locked with Kagura's red ones, her intense gaze freezing the wind youkai as her soft words floated on the air between them.

"Not if he has Ingrid telling him what to do, and _when_ to do it."

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"I smell wolf." The red-robed hanyou thumbed the katana at his side, nose still scenting the air.

"Kouga?" the raven-haired miko at his side asked gently, one hand remaining reassuringly on the fox kit that perched on her left shoulder.

She had her answer as soon as her companion relaxed his guard. "No…it's not the Wimpy Wolf, just those two idiots that follow him everywhere. I wonder what they're doing out here without him?"

"Maybe they're scouting?" the pink-clad exterminator suggested, the two-tailed cat on her shoulder mewing in agreement.

"Or perhaps they are running from something." the monk said quietly, one hand idly fiddling with the prayer beads around his wrist.

The hanyou gave a soft "Keh."

"Inu Yasha…" the miko said softly, "you're not going to pick a fight with them, are you?"

"Keh! As if I'd waste my time on those two wimps! Besides, _they _don't act like a certain annoying wolf around me, so why should I waste my time fighting with them?" he said indignantly.

"Inu Yasha." the woman said softly, her tone admiring. She didn't have to compliment him out loud. If the way she had said his name hadn't been enough to boost the hanyou's ego, the sparkle in her eyes more than made up for it.

"Hey! Nee-san!" a gleeful voice cried out, breaking the brief quiet that had fallen upon the small group.

"Hey! Ginta!" Kagome called out cheerfully, before bracing herself for her adopted brother's hearty greeting.

"Hakkaku!" she called out warmly, slightly out of breath as Ginta released her from his boisterous version of a hug.

"Kagome." he said quietly back, his smile erasing the traces of frostiness from his tone.

"So has Kouga finally decided to give up his shards?" the impatient hanyou demanded.

"Inu Yasha! Be polite!" Kagome scolded, before turning back to the two wolves. "So what brings you to us, Ginta, Hakkaku?"

The two brothers looked at each other, both seeming to sigh before Ginta began to speak. "We're actually looking for two of our allies, Sister. The princess Amaya and a lone wolf from her tribe came here from the South, looking for an heirloom that was stolen from their clan. About a week ago," Ginta's gaze flicked to Hakkaku's stoic face before returning to meet Kagome's eyes, "the princess decided to begin looking on her own. Kouga is honor-bound to assure her safety in his territory, but she refused to allow any of our wolves to accompany her."

"So the Wimpy Wolf has you spying on her instead, huh?" the hanyou said, a smirk on his face.

Ginta flushed. "Something like that, yes."

"So I take it you've lost sight of this princess, and that is why you are looking for her now?" the monk interjected.

Hakkaku snorted, and Ginta shot him a glare. "Something like that, yes."

The monk held his chin thoughtfully. "I'm sure that if we had run across any wolf princesses, we would have known it. I assume that she is beautiful?"

Ginta nodded. "Quite."

"Her personality leaves a lot to be desired, believe me." Hakkaku growled.

"What's his problem?" Kagome whispered behind her hand to Ginta.

"The princess is of age and unattached." Ginta whispered back. "As you know, our clan's numbers are still awfully low after we lost so many to Kagura, but our men still outnumber our women more than five to one. Quite a few…" he paused, then tried to phrase his next words delicately, "quite a few of our remaining brothers had taken a personal interest in the princess. Unfortunately, she didn't return their interest."

"Okay…" Kagome said slowly. She was quite aware of how a wolf's 'personal interest' could be expressed, thank you very much, but…

"So…what does that have to do with Hakkaku not liking her?"

Ginta smiled grimly. "He was the first to, ah, approach her. She made an example out of him, to warn the rest of our brothers to keep their distance."

"Made an…oh." Kagome said, blinking quickly. _'If this princess turned down Hakkaku, no wonder he doesn't seem to like her much.' _she mused.

Hakkaku growled. "I heard that."

"So…" Inu Yasha drawled, barely hiding a grin, "you got your ass kicked by a girl, huh?"

Hakkaku's growl deepened and Kagome sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"Sit, boy." she said wearily, watching as the hanyou plunged, head-first and screaming, into the ground.

"Hey!" he yelled indignantly. "What the hell was that for?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to pick a fight with them?" she shot back.

"Oh…umm…did I say that?" he said sheepishly, patiently waiting for the spell to wear off.

"Ginta, Hakkaku," Sango interrupted gently, "why is it you think that we may have seen her?"

The brothers exchanged looks. "Well," Ginta said after a pause, "shortly after she left us, she seemed to start traveling with someone that you're all quite familiar with, and who probably wouldn't tolerate us tagging along behind him…"

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"That was…enlightening." Amy said, watching the wind youkai as she floated away on the breeze. "Can we trust her?"

Sesshoumaru shrugged, scanning the skies as well. "Kagura's greatest desire is to be free from the coward who created her. Although she is bound to follow his orders, she betrays him at every opportunity she can grasp."

Amy looked skeptically at the stoic youkai. "Are you sure that's her 'greatest desire'?" she said in disbelief. _She_ certainly hadn't missed the coy looks that the wind youkai had been giving her cold companion, not to mention the jealous vibes the witch had sent off whenever Amy stepped too close to Frosty. Was it possible that he had?

Of course, why anyone would go out of their way to flirt with this cold, close-mouthed jackass of a youkai was beyond her. '_Yeah, but Ice Boy here does have one fine ass._' a traitorous voice pointed out quickly in her head before she hastily banished the thought.

Sesshoumaru looked skeptically at the frail woman at his side. "Why else would she have so willingly sought us out and revealed her master's plans?"

'_Yep._' Amy thought. '_Clueless._'

She shook her head. "If she were a human, Sesshoumaru, I'd swear that that female had a crush on you. But seeing that's she's a youkai, you're probably right."

"She has a what on me?" Sesshoumaru asked, a delicately arched eyebrow betraying his puzzlement.

Amy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry - what I meant was that I think she's, umm, attracted to you."

"Of course she is, you stupid hanyou!" Jakken squawked indignantly. "No female could be immune to Lord Sesshoumaru's innate charms!"

Amy tried not to roll her eyes at the imp. "Whatever. Just because _you're_ in love with him, Jakken, doesn't mean that the rest of us are."

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow fought to arch even higher, the corners of his mouth twitching as his retainer and the hanyou began to argue over his immense charisma. Amusing, yet somewhat embarrassing at the same time.

"Are you trying to deny Lord Sesshoumaru's ability to attract females, you…you…_hanyou?_!" The imp screeched. '_How dare she insult my lord thus! And with him standing right there, too!_' he thought indignantly.

Amy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to ward off the headache she could already feel building. "Look, Jakken, hanyou or not, the last time I checked I was still very much a female. Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru _is_ very, very handsome. I am _not_, however attracted to him." '_Liar!_' the traitorous voice whispered in her head before she mentally kicked it into submission. "Therefore, logic has broken your claim. He is _not_ irresistible to females."

"Hmph." Jakken snorted indignantly, staring into the female's heated eyes. "If you were not in your human form, you could not deny the attractiveness of my Lord Sesshoumaru. Your current lack of youki has really addled your senses."

Amy twitched. '_Why that little…_'

"Ahem." The sudden noise from the subject in question broke the two out of their eye-lock, both starting guiltily to find an annoyed looking Sesshoumaru, a giggling Rin and a blushing Derek all looking intently at them.

"_Yes_?" Amy and Jakken said simultaneously, both glaring briefly at each other before a slight growl from Sesshoumaru brought them both back to attention.

"The Lady Amaya and I have more important things to discuss than my many charms." Sesshoumaru stated gruffly, obviously dismissing his retainer who bowed and ushered the children away from their respective guardians. As amusing as it was to see the two argue, they really did have better things to discuss. '_Besides, this nose does not lie._' he thought, bemused. '_She was not being entirely truthful when she said that she didn't find this Sesshoumaru attractive. This could become…interesting._' he thought maliciously. Her denial of attraction was a small challenge to him, true, but it was one that he would enjoy winning.

"It would appear that our enemies have joined forces, hanyou." he stated quietly, waiting for her nod to continue. "If Naraku has gained control of the Talisman of the Moon, then he no longer has need of the Shikon Jewel and its powers." Sesshoumaru paused before continuing as coolly as he could. "This increases his threat to these lands a hundredfold."

Amy looked at him, mouth slightly agape. "So you know…"

"That the 'heirloom' you seek is the Talisman?" Sesshoumaru stated sarcastically, a frown marring his features. "Don't insult my intelligence, girl. Only two things drag the Moon Wolves out of hiding - the threat of war and a direct threat to the Clan itself. The loss of the Talisman would mean both for you.

"It was obvious what 'heirloom' it was that you were seeking. The fact that it _is_ in Naraku's possession simply…complicates things."

Amy stood in silence for a few minutes, watching Rin and Derek as they played Tag with an unwilling Jakken. "So what should we do now?" she said quietly.

Sesshoumaru regarded her calmly. "You are the Seeker, are you not?"

Amy shrugged. "Yes, but I don't know enough about this Naraku yet to track him down and infiltrate his stronghold. You, on the other hand, have been fighting him for what? Two? Three years now?"

Sesshoumaru nodded, and Amy continued. "So you would know much better than I where to start looking for him.

"So I ask you again, Lord Sesshoumaru, what should we do now?"

Sesshoumaru gazed towards the setting sun, watching as it slowly dropped behind the mountains. "I have a stronghold, not far from here." he said softly. "We should go there. Rest, resupply, and plan our next move. If we start now, and do not stop, we can be there by dawn."

Amy nodded. "Sounds like a plan, then." She turned from the youkai lord, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Derek! Rin! C'mon kids, it's time to go!"

Jakken came running up before the kids. "My lord." he said, bowing deeply. "Might I inquire as to where we are going?"

Sesshoumaru didn't take his eyes from the horizon. "Home, Jakken. I have decided to end our patrol early."

Rin came running up with Derek, both chattering excitedly until the girl heard Sesshoumaru's words. "Does this mean I can introduce Derek to Ah-Un, my lord?" she said, looking hopefully up at the still youkai.

At his nod, she squealed. "Oh, you're gonna love Ah-Un, Derek!" The girl determinedly grabbed the hanyou's hand, and began chattering about the two-headed dragon.

Amy looked bemusedly at the kids, falling into step as the youkai lord began to stride forward. "Ah-Un?" she inquired softly. "I take it this is a friend of Rin's?"

The stoic lord gave a slight twitch of the lips. If Amy didn't know better, she'd swear that he was repressing a smile. "You could say that." he admitted. "Ah-Un is my war-dragon. Normally he travels with us but, as the last few months have been the dragons' mating season, I thought it wiser to leave him at home with the brood-mothers." Sesshoumaru inclined his head thoughtfully. "Though, he should have gotten the energy of spring out of his system by now."

Amy snorted. '_Energy of spring, huh? I guess that's one way to put it - especially as it's almost summer now._'

"Those two better start pacing themselves." she observed out loud. "Rin's going to tire herself out before too long, and I don't think I'll have the energy to carry her tonight."

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Naraku stared into Kanna's mirror, observing Kagura's latest betrayal. An impatient figure paced behind him.

"And now the fun begins." he said quietly, satisfaction lacing his voice.

"You should have let me go." Ingrid said impatiently. "She's weak now, with Jiman at my side there's no way I couldn't slay the little mongrel."

Naraku snorted. "It's thinking like that that killed you the first time around, Ingrid. Sesshoumaru won't let you within five feet of the girl, not now that he's decided to travel with her. Besides," he held his be-ringed hand up to the weak sunlight that filtered through the covered windows, "as long as we have this, time is on our side.

"The princess only has until the full moon to find us, retrieve this, and return it to her own time. To succeed, we merely need to be patient."

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"I can't _believe_ this shit." Inu Yasha growled. "All these years ranting about filthy humans and tainted blood, and that bastard is escorting a _Moon Wolf_ around the Western Lands?"

Kagome laid one hand on the upset hanyou's shoulder, even as she used the other to wave farewell to her adoptive kin. She eyed the setting sun, relieved that the brothers had chosen to leave before Inu Yasha's secret was revealed once more. Kouga wasn't the absolute last person she'd want to discover her friend's weakness, but he was definitely near the bottom of the list.

The monk rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, gazing at the dust cloud that surrounded the running wolves. "This is definitely…unexpected, especially for a youkai such as your brother, Inu Yasha."

The little fox jumped from Kagome's shoulder to the monk's, a questioning look on his face as he looked back at the growling hanyou. "Miroku? What's a Moon Wolf?"

"No kidding." the youkai exterminator chimed in. "I thought I knew every kind of youkai there was, and I've never heard of them."

"You probably haven't heard of them because they're not really youkai. They're a clan of wolf hanyous." Inu Yasha growled, the monk nodding. "They've been interbreeding with humans and other youkai for nearly a thousand years now, and they like their privacy."

"I'd thought they were merely legend until today. There are some shrines that claim to have Moon Wolves as guardians, but I personally have never seen one." Miroku added. "Inu Yasha, do you know anything else about them?"

"Keh! Only that they stay out of everybody else's way. They're very strictly of the 'Leave us alone, we'll leave you alone' mentality."

The hanyou scuffed a toe in the ground. "But...sometimes they take in orphan hanyous." he stated quietly. "After Mom died, one of them offered to give me sanctuary in their lands."

He looked at the miko, who laid a hand on his shoulder. "Inu Yasha, did you..." she asked softly.

Inu Yasha scoffed. "What, a dog live with wolves? Get real. Besides," his eyes grew steelier as his tone became serious, "someone had to...finish taking care of Mom. I was the only one who was left."

The group gazed westwards, watching the sun slip beneath the horizon. The wind whistled around them, most of the group respectfully turning their gaze as the hanyou's features softened into that of his human form. He suddenly laughed, waiting to speak until everyone's startled eyes settled on him.

"I wonder," he said softly, "what is so special about _this_ wolf that's making Sesshoumaru act so weird?"

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Amy suppressed a yawn. When Sesshoumaru had said they would travel through the night, she didn't think he'd meant it literally. Yet here they were, across the mountain, with only a few hours until dawn and the restoration of her youki.

She looked sadly up at Derek, who had volunteered to carry a sleepy Rin on his back. With dawn, his youki would also return and he would be trapped once more in his canine form.

Sesshoumaru didn't miss the glances that the tired woman kept giving her companion. It really was quite amazing how subtle the changes between her hanyou and human forms were. True, her coloring and features had dulled. Her hair had lost its traces of red, becoming a rich mahogany color not unlike Rin's. Her eyes had faded until only flecks of captivating green remained in pools of a deep brown. He hadn't realized that her ears were slightly pointed until they had rounded out, and it surprised him how fragile her hands looked once her short claws had disappeared.

But the spark, the inner fire that he found both intriguing and annoying, had not faded one whit. Their argument that morning over who would fetch breakfast, and who would stay behind, had certainly proven that…

"_Whaddya mean, 'stay here'?" she'd demanded angrily when he'd informed her that he would once again be obtaining the children's breakfast. "Nuh uh." she'd said, shaking her head, her eyes gazing fiercely at him. "These two need some fruit, or vegetables, or _something_ healthy, not more red meat, you carnivore."_

"_You are not yourself, woman." he'd sneered. "You shouldn't be roaming the woods alone when you are defenseless."_

_Ah, the chill rage that had emanated from her had almost made him shiver. Almost._

_Her hand had dropped menacingly to the dagger that had now been placed on her hip. "I won't _be_ defenseless, Lord Sesshoumaru. This isn't my first time as a full-blooded human, you know."_

He'd decided not to protest any more at that point, allowing her to fade quietly into the woods and return triumphantly with some of the first berries of the season. He did not, after all, want to give the impression that he _cared _about her welfare. He was just…curious, at the beginning. Her manner, her slight accent, even her odd clothing had intrigued him. The way she and her pack-mate had defended Rin, simply because she was a child in trouble, astounded him.

His hand dropped bemusedly onto the hilt of his own family heirloom. And then Tenseiga had expressed its own interest in the girl and her well-being, which was perhaps the most intriguing thing of all.

Though, he would admit that the way she had fussed over him the day before, tending his insignificant wound as carefully as a mate and yet berating him as though he were a pup had just been…disturbing.

He allowed his eyes to glance at the tired human. And now, it would appear that she may hold the key to finally defeating Naraku.

"Hanyou." he said softly, waiting for the woman to look towards him. "Was today really that bad of a day?"

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "No, actually."

He quirked his eyebrow, his body language indicating that he expected a longer answer. Amy moved closer to him, telling herself it was so that they could continue to talk without keeping Rin from falling asleep. '_Nope,_' she told herself, '_I'm not trying to cuddle into him without actually touching him, even though he _is_ radiating heat like a furnace and it's colder than a witch's tit out here. Brr! Maybe I was wrong about it almost being summer._' she thought ruefully.

She shivered as the fluffy thing on his shoulder brushed her cheek, and hastily backed off a pace. "I was actually expecting Ingrid to put in an appearance." she admitted. "It's unusual for her not to jump when an opportunity presents itself."

"Kagura wasn't able to elaborate much on the woman herself." Sesshoumaru said, subtly moving closer to the hanyou just to see if she would keep shifting away. At first it was amusing, but when it became apparent that she was doing it on purpose it became almost irritating. '_What on Earth does she keep moving away for?' _he thought indignantly.

Amy blew her bangs out of her eyes, irritated at the way Sesshoumaru seemed to be crowding her. '_What, is the trail not wide enough for the both of us?_' she thought sarcastically. '_What, Mister Big, Tall and Poofy doesn't know how to share?_'

"There's not much to elaborate on." she said carefully. '_That's it! If he steps over _one more freakin' time_, I'm _not_ moving. No way am I walking in the brush just so Frosty here can have the trail to himself!_' she thought, fuming.

He quirked an eyebrow, trying to decide if he wanted to take another step just to see if she would actually step off of the trail to get away from him. '_Not worth it._' he decided.

"What do you know of her?" he asked, subtly watching her face.

Her back stiffened slightly before she forced it to relax, and Sesshoumaru fought to keep the bored expression on his face. "Well, for one thing, Ingrid was - is - human, though I have heard rumors that she had some fox ancestry. She'd attacked my parents when I was very young, so I don't remember much about her." she said carefully. "We'd believed her to be dead and gone, actually. So it was quite a surprise when…" she paused, forcing her eyes not to tear up. "When the Talisman was stolen, and its guardian slain, Ingrid's scent was all over the place. The elders think that she tried to use a masking spell on her appearance and scent, but the lone survivor of her last attack still recognized her."

They walked on for a few more minutes in silence before Amy regained her composure and resumed speaking. "Ingrid was a mad-woman, even when she was first alive, Sesshoumaru." she said softly. "Her daughter was kidnapped by one of our leaders, and taken as his mate without the permission of the girls' parents. When Ingrid found out that the father of her grandchild wasn't human, she went nuts. She made several attempts on the life of not only her daughter's mate, but the lives of her daughter and grandchild as well. She succeeded in slaying her daughter and her son-in-law, but the leader's son by his first mate managed to slay the mad-woman before she succeeded in also taking the cub's life."

Amy looked up at the taller youkai. "She had been dead for over a century before her scent invaded our lands once more, leaving destruction in its wake. I can see _why_ a person like Naraku would've revived someone as hell-bent on revenge as she was. It fits with his apparent love of chaos.

"What I don't understand is _how_ he could have revived her."

Sesshoumaru inclined his head. "This would not be the first time that Naraku has used Shikon shards to revive the dead." he confided.

Amy shook her head again. "Yeah, that was part of the briefing that Jakken gave me yesterday. What I don't get is how he found her remains. They weren't exactly buried around here, ya know."

Sesshoumaru shook his head, the silver strands gently swaying before settling once more along his back. "More likely than not, the woman's spirit was drawn to him, rather than the other way around."

Amy walked in silence for a few moments. '_If _she_ sought _him_ out…that would explain a lot. I _knew_ Aniki shouldn't have buried her so close to the portal!_' she seethed. '_Idiot! He might still be alive if he hadn't…if he hadn't…_' She grabbed a hold of her emotions and yanked before her tears started to fall.

Sesshoumaru scented salt as Tenseiga gave a gentle pulse at his side. He glanced subtly down at the female, noting the gleam of unshed tears in her eyes.

"Hanyou?" he said quietly, his eyebrow rising of its own volition.

"Hmm?" she replied, jerking out of her thoughts. "It would be like Ingrid to seek trouble out, rather than let it find her." she admitted.

"You speak as though you actually know the woman, and not just the story." Sesshoumaru stated bluntly.

A faint smile touched the hanyou's mouth, though Sesshoumaru doubted that humor had much to do with its presence.

"As I said, she attacked my parents when I was very young, just before she was killed. It was…a memorable experience."

"I do not recognize her name." Amy looked questioningly at the quiet lord.

"In-gr-id. It is not a Japanese name, nor does it seem like a name the Chi'in would use."

Amy started to speak, and then stopped. '_Just how much do I tell him without giving too much away?_' she wondered silently.

"Her father was not from these lands, though her mother was. I believe the name was common in his homeland." Amy gave herself a mental pat on the back for being vague, without being _too_ vague. After all, it would be at least three hundred years before her great-grandfather showed up and started this whole mess…

"Look, Sesshoumaru, if you want to know everything I know about the woman and her heritage, fine. But I'd really rather not talk about her right now." she said softly.

Surprisingly, the cold youkai let the subject drop, a mere nod of his head the only indication that he'd heard her.

The two continued to walk in companionable silence, Amy suppressing yawns every other minute. '_I hope we get there soon…I feel like my legs are about to fall off. Where's a cup of coffee when I need it most?_'

Sesshoumaru's ear twitched in annoyance as he heard yet another stunted intake of breath. '_Is she really that tired?_' he wondered.

He quietly observed her step and concluded that yes, she was. Her feet barely left the ground before she set them down again, her eyes were dull as though she was asleep already and her body had merely not caught onto the fact. Sesshoumaru knew that humans, and even hanyous, required much more sleep than a youkai such as he did, and the hanyou had gotten precious little of it ever since meeting him. It truly was a pity that Ah-Un was not there. If the steady dragon were, Sesshoumaru would merely have entrusted both females to his back and let Ah-Un guard them as they slept.

She tripped next to him, shaking her head as though trying to wake herself up. Really, he had to commend her for _trying_, but it was foolish to push yourself beyond your limits when it wasn't necessary. And had she not recently berated him for displaying the same kind of behavior?

'_Perhaps,_' he thought bemusedly, '_some minor revenge is in order._'

Without a second thought, he scooped the human up and threw her over his right shoulder. Shock stilled her as he shifted her so that his armor would not be impaling her, but it didn't keep her quiet forever.

"_What_ do you think you are doing?" she hissed, indignation turning her cheeks a lovely shade of crimson.

He leaned his head back slightly, waiting until she used her hands to walk up his back and face him. At this distance he couldn't help but inhale her scent, the jasmine becoming more prominent in her human form.

"I should think it would be obvious." he said calmly. "You are so tired you can no longer walk straight. You should be honored that I am willing to give you this opportunity to rest, hanyou - don't insult me by wasting it."

A low growl resonated from her throat, but she relaxed in submission. He was right; it had been getting harder to concentrate on walking. It didn't mean that she had to like being thrown over his shoulder, though. She blew some of the fluff away from her nose, irritated when it sprang right back. '_Must...not...sneeze..._' she thought distractedly.

"Boy." Sesshoumaru called ahead. Derek turned to look at him, shocked to see his aunt slung over the daiyoukai's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. A pissed off sack of potatoes, no doubt.

"Yes, sir?" he said politely but quietly. No sense in waking Rin up when she had taken forever to fall asleep.

"If we run, we can be to my castle in less than an hour. Can you keep up?"

Derek looked into the taiyoukai's golden, emotionless eyes, and swallowed. "I can try, sir."

Sesshoumaru gave a curt nod. "Jakken."

The toad seemed to materialize out of the shadows behind Sesshoumaru. Amy blinked once, then blinked again for good measure. '_Okay…human eyesight, dark forest. Not a good combination. But still…how did he _do_ that!_'

"Yes, my lord?" the imp said, giving the human over his lord's shoulder a disdaining look.

"You know the way home. Be there by dawn."

"Yes, my…"

In a blur they were gone, the older youkai leading the way as the young hanyou stayed close on his heels.

"Lord." he finished wryly. He didn't know what had suddenly prompted his lord's decision to hurry, but he was betting that it was the indignity of toting that…that…_hanyou_ around. Jakken sighed. He remembered the good old days when his lord would slay a companion that couldn't keep up, or at the very least abandon the weakling. But to actually lower himself to being a beast of burden? For a lowly hanyou, no less?

Jakken slowly shook his head in disbelief. Now, he had truly seen everything.

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_**A/N: **This is the chapter that would not end. Oy. On the upside, this chapter officially makes AW the longest story I have ever written. Yes, I know, it's a small accomplishment…but still…yay!_

_Okay, for the Japanese word that I left out earlier: Jiman, the name of the katana that Ingrid stole from Amy's dead brother. "Jiman" means "Pride", and as Ingrid states, it is known for its attack that steals an enemy's "pride", or will to fight._

_And Sanood...there's the reason Ah-Un wasn't there, lol. He was off making little Ah-Un's, lol._

_Catz: Nope, no fight this time, unless you count the arguments Sesshoumaru and Amy get into. Good thing for Amy that's she's got Sesshoumaru by his Achilles' Heel (his curiosity), or she'd probably have been a smear on the ground by the end of the second chapter. And then where would my plot be? Hehehe. Speaking for the future, though...Naraku won't be able to keep Ingrid leashed forever. _

_Khaosfire-Katana: You. Deleted. "Phoenix Fire". I was hoping you would update that, not delete it! WAH! (But I do hope that this chapter was up to snuff...)_

_Starfall88: Merry Christmas to you too, honey. I'm glad to know I have an ally against FF . net's dating system! _

_Playingwithdemons: Yeah, it disappoints me sometimes. I keep telling myself that its because I rated this story "R", and Fanfiction . net shows the G-PG13 ratings by default. So the "R" rated stories don't show up on the main Inu Yasha page unless a reader actually changes the filter to "R" or "All". (Thank for reviewing, btw. I LOVE seeing new names on the review page!)_


	6. Enter Fudomaru

**_Disclaimer: Still don't own it. May abandon ninja monkeys in favor of ninja elephants, though – they're clunky, but they'll work for peanuts._**

**_This story is rated "T" for language and violence. Consider yourself warned._**

_A/N: I want to dedicate this chapter to Nefertiri, who diligently reminded me that I had an imprisonment scene to write. We're not quite there yet, unfortunately, but we're getting there. Thanks for keeping me on track, Nef. What would I do without you?_

_I would now like to point out that the theory I use in this chapter as to **What That Fluffy Thing on Sesshoumaru's Shoulder Is** isn't mine, and unfortunately I am using it without permission. I picked it up from another fanfic here but, try as I might, I cannot remember the author's name. If anyone recognizes it, PLEASE let me know so I can give her credit. To me, her theory (that the mokomoko-sama is the physical manifestation of the youki that Sesshoumaru isn't using when he's in his "people form") is the one that makes the most sense as to what the mokomoko-sama really is, and that author deserves a lot of credit for coming up with it._

_The theory of how the Time portals work, on the other hand, is my idea and is based on similar theories about wormholes in outer space. So who knows, my theory could even be true…now who wants to test it?_

_Now, on a serious note, if the drop-off in reviews is any indication, people are either losing interest in this story, or miss when it updates (as up until quite recently, this story was rated "R" and Fanfiction dot net did not list anything past PG13 in the main Inuyasha page – with the new rating system in place, I designated this fic at "T" so that it would still show up with everyone else's). If anyone is interested in receiving an email when I update this story, please leave your email address in a review._

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**Enter Fudomaru, the Burning Death**

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The first thing she noticed was that she was cold.

The second and third things, respectively, were that a piece of armor was persistently digging into a soft spot under her ribs, and that a bit of fluff was successfully attempting to investigate the inside of her left nostril.

'_Arg…why couldn't I have just stayed asleep?_' Amy grumped to herself, shifting once more on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. Granted, she hadn't slept for even five minutes, but that was beside the point. She had, however briefly, been blissfully unaware of the embarrassing situation that she was now in.

She shivered, turning her head and burying her nose under the daiyoukai's heavy mass of hair, ignoring how close her mouth had come to his neck. The wind, chilly when she had been walking, had grown bitterly cold once Sesshoumaru began to run. It whipped mercilessly over her still form, blowing her own thick hair forward and over Sesshoumaru's shoulder despite her repeated attempts to keep it covering her exposed back.

'_Traitor._' she though disgustedly, glaring through the brown and silver hair-curtain that now covered her face. Giving up, she burrowed further into the fluff, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as she sank so far into it that bits of the fuzzy stuff began to cover her chilled back.

'_If I didn't know better…_' she thought warily, '_I'd swear this stuff was growing…_'

Sesshoumaru didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed by the woman's silent antics. Awake, asleep, awake – twisting, shifting, she was a never ending cycle of tiny movements. When her cold nose brushed his neck, he was tempted to toss her away out of spite. But in her frail human form, being thrown at such speeds could well be fatal.

So he sighed, and bore her movement in silence, even as her breath blew gently against the lobe of his ear. Without so much as a thought, he stretched the physical extension of his youki, using the mokomoko-sama to wrap the shivering woman in a cocoon of warmth.

Perhaps she would cease her twitching once she was no longer cold.

Neither the daiyoukai nor his living cargo noticed the surreptitious glances their young companion cast their way. Sesshoumaru had pulled ahead when they first started to run, giving Derek a front row view of their antics. In the nearly seven decades of his life, the hanyou had never known his aunt to willingly accept the help of a non-wolf.

Heck, she usually didn't even accept the help of other _wolves_.

And yet here she was, letting a dog youkai lead them around, giving the most minimal of protests when the youkai slung her over his shoulder like a war prize when she normally would have walked until she dropped. Derek shook his head in bemusement.

His beloved aunt had quite a few faults, and stubbornness wasn't the least of them.

'_So why's she putting up with this dog telling her what to do?_' he thought, puzzled. '_Yeah, he's intimidating as hell, but it's not like she even knows him, let alone trusts him. I wonder...could she be accepting his help because her back isn't fully healed yet? I would have smelled if it weren't, wouldn't I?_'

Thinking of how his aunt had become wounded in the first place made both his heart and his head hurt. She had been with his father when he was ambushed, and had taken a blow from Jiman, the sword forged of his father's own fang. Only a weapon made of another Moon Wolf had the power to seriously injure one of their bloodline.

God, he missed Dad. Seeing the similarities in his aunt's face, despite that they had been only half-siblings, served as a daily reminder that his father was dead and gone.

True, his aunt's coloring was different – she had inherited the green of her eyes and the red cast of her hair from her human mother, rather than the black, silver-tipped hair and grey eyes that Derek shared with most of their clan. But her features, her stature, her very bearing were that of the elite of the Moon Wolf Clan…as his father's had been.

Derek shook his head again, banishing the morose thoughts. That didn't matter now. What mattered was finding the Talisman, avenging his father, and closing the gateway that connected their time with this one. He still didn't quite understand why it was that the Talisman's presence in this time was forcing the gateway to remain open, or why it was that they only had until the next full moon to close it. Heck, he didn't even understand how portals between different times could exist, though Aunt Amy had tried to explain it to him during the last new moon…

_They'd huddled around the small campfire, his aunt intent on educating him while he was able to ask complex questions. The firelight had cast eerie, flickering shadows over her face, adding the red tint to her hair that became lacking during what she jokingly referred to as her Time of the Month._

"_It's actually not that complicated, Derek." she'd said, a twinkle in her eye betraying the half-truth. "Imagine that you are walking across a field. Now, this field is actually a very big hill that is much wider than it is tall, so it appears to be flat even though there is a definite curve to it. Well, suppose that you were able to dig a tunnel from one side of that hill to the other. You'd be able to travel from one end to the other, back and forth, without having to actually walk across the field-hill._

_Now, imagine that Time is that hill. It appears to be flat, stretching only forward, but in reality it curves slightly, so that a tunnel – a portal – can be made from one end to the other. A portal like this would allow people to travel from one time to another, without having to experience the years in between."_

"_Okay, I get that." he'd said impatiently. "But why is the Talisman forcing the portal to stay open?"_

_She'd sighed, and prodded the fire, watching the sparks as they soared to heaven like tiny souls._

"_A special magic is used to create and maintain such time portals, Derek. Most were made using the wood of the Goshinboku – the God Trees. Such trees were – are – a sort of time reservoir, and act as a natural anchor point for Time itself. To be honest, I don't quite know how the magic of the God Trees works, only that it does and that, once intelligent beings start manipulating that magic, a careful balance must be maintained lest the portal collapse on itself and begin to unravel the very fabric of time._

"_When…" his aunt's voice had hitched, then grew hard as her eyes became unforgiving. "When our enemy stole the Talisman, she brought it back to this time, and in so doing she created a paradox." She raised a hand, stilling the question that tried to escape his lips._

"_The Talisman already exists in this time, Derek. By bringing its future self here, she created a loop of sorts in the magic the portal uses. It's like entering bad data into a computer – it causes the computer to go into a continuous loop until it fries and crashes. The Monks of Time, the Shinto priests that guard the portals, have already noticed that the area around our portal has been…affected. They believe that if the paradox isn't resolved, that if the Talisman is not brought back to its rightful place in time, that the portal will seriously malfunction. Either it will stay open permanently or…" She had paused, searching for the right words. "Or, it will crash, and create a hole within Time itself." _

Derek shook away the memory of that conversation, although a new question presented itself. He quickened his pace, pulling almost abreast of the tall youkai.

"Aunt Amy?" he said softly, pitching his voice low in deference to the adorable little human snoring on his back.

His aunt lifted a sleepy head, blinking her eyes at her nephew. '_Damn it…was almost asleep again...grr…_'

"What's up, kiddo?" she yawned, her teeth baring briefly as she shook her head in a rather canine fashion. Sesshoumaru kept his gaze forward, though his head may have tilted in the wolves' direction.

"What did you mean when you said that Naraku wouldn't be planning to attack here, if Ingrid is telling him when and where to attack?"

Her eyes hardened, and Derek winced as he realized that he probably shouldn't have asked around Sesshoumaru.

"Yes, hanyou. This Sesshoumaru would like to know, as well." the lord said in a soft, yet dangerous voice. '_I know there's something you're not telling me._' his tone seemed to say.

"Well, looks like the jig is up." Amy said almost flippantly.

"Jig?" Sesshoumaru's eyebrow arched. The hanyou's strange vocabulary continued to surprise him, though he tried not to show it.

"Well, you may have noticed that we're not exactly from around here, Lord Sesshoumaru." Amy said, her voice growing serious. His snort confirmed her statement, and she plowed forward. "But it isn't because we came here from the South Lands, though to be honest, neither Derek nor I really grew up in those lands. We have come here, to this time, from over five centuries in your future."

The great youkai stopped so suddenly that Derek was nearly a thousand feet ahead of him before he noticed the distinct lack of aunt- and daiyoukai-age.

"Come again?" Sesshoumaru said, his voice completely devoid of any emotion.

"You heard me the first time." Amy said defiantly, attempting to cross her arms and stare the youkai down.

Unfortunately, such a position was impossible to maintain, seeing as she was still lying over his shoulder, and she ended up looking more like an uncomfortable, petulant child than a confident, defiant adult.

"You expect me to believe that you come from the future?" The taiyoukai snorted. "Don't make this Sesshoumaru laugh."

"_A laugh would do you good, jackass. How else would you like to explain my fluency in a language that has yet to be spoken in these islands, Lord Sesshoumaru?_"she stated in an almost mocking tone, switching back to Japanese as his eyebrow began to twitch.

"I expect you to believe it because it is the truth, Lord Sesshoumaru." She spoke softly, knowing that allowing her voice to rise in frustration would only harm her position. "Whether or not you choose to believe it is, of course, completely up to you.

"Now, Derek…the reason Naraku won't be attacking here and now is because Ingrid will have already informed him of the futility of gathering Shikon shards. In our time," she directed her gaze to the once-more walking youkai, "there is no written record of Naraku, or of the battles he's fought for the Shikon shards. Were he successful, there's no way we wouldn't know about it. Now, Ingrid _could_ probably tell him what to do here and now so that he would, indeed, succeed. However," she raised her finger to show that she was making a point, "if she did, it would change history as we know it, and thus create a paradox. The history that she came here knowing would no longer exist, and her knowledge of it would disappear with that history. Once her knowledge disappeared, she would no longer know how to advise Naraku, and poof! We'd be back in our current timeline where Naraku fails. Thus, Ingrid cannot tell him what to do here because she would create a paradox in which success would be impossible. So, the only thing she knows for certain is that Naraku, should he choose to continue his pursuit of power here, would ultimately fail. So, logically, she would advise Naraku to gather his forces to attack where the future is still uncharted – our time.

"And also…Ingrid holds a grudge against our clan, and she is incapable of seeking the revenge she desires without help." Amy paused for breath, searching Sesshoumaru's face for a reaction, any reaction. "She would be tempted to bring Naraku to our time just to see him destroy our family."

Sesshoumaru walked forward in silence, digesting Amaya's…tale? Story? Truth? "And she would not ask him to destroy your clan here and now because…?" his voice lilted up in question.

"Because, for her to do so would prevent the events that led to her hating my people in the first place." Amy said quietly. "If the Moon Wolves were decimated here, now, her daughter's kidnapper will die before her daughter was even born. And if her daughter had not been kidnapped…"

"She would have no grudge, and therefore, she would have no reason to come to the past, creating yet another of your paradoxes." Sesshoumaru finished, Amy's nod confirming his conclusion.

"There is one thing you have not touched upon, hanyou." Sesshoumaru spoke calmly, but Amy shivered as his fluff flexed around her. "If your clan is intent on avoiding paradoxes in time, your clan would have to already know that sending you and your nephew to this time would be a successful endeavor. Or do the Moon Wolves have no records of this event?"

Amy nodded reluctantly. "There was a tale, passed from generation to generation, that the power of the Talisman was disrupted for a brief period, though it remained safely on its Guardian's person. It was said that two foreign wolves came to solve the problem, and that they succeeded. Unfortunately, the tale didn't include how it was that we will succeed, or even if we will live through this experience - only that the disruption will be stopped."

She gave a short laugh, shaking her head as Sesshoumaru gave her an incredulous look. "Come to think of it, it's probably a good thing that we don't know what is going to happen. If we did, we would be much more limited in what we could do."

"Because you are not bound by your knowledge of what has been, and will be," Sesshoumaru nodded slowly, "whatever actions you take here will not affect history as you know it." Reluctant as he was to accept such a tale, she spoke convincingly and, more importantly, her scent was nearly clean of the nuances that indicated dishonesty. He was certain that she was not lying, but she _was_ still holding something back from him.

Of this, Sesshoumaru was certain.

"Suppose for a moment, hanyou," he spoke softly, yet as firmly as steel, "that I was inclined to believe this tale of yours. I will _not_ allow Naraku to escape his fate by fleeing this time – the coward _will_ die upon this Sesshoumaru's claws. What do you believe we should do?"

"First off, we need to find the Talisman." Amy said firmly, not allowing Sesshoumaru's tone to cow her. "Once we have that, we can close the portal we traveled through that connects this time and our time. Until my time's Talisman is restored to its proper place, its mere presence in this time is forcing the portal to remain open. Once that portal is closed, only its guardians or another item of great power will be able to re-open it.

"And so Naraku would remain trapped in this time, where he is fated to fail."

Sesshoumaru seemed to digest this information, walking in silence as Amy and Derek traded speculative glances. Deprived of her sense of smell, Amy wasn't sure if Sesshoumaru believed her or was just humoring them, though she was inclined to think that he believed them. '_After all,_' she thought wryly, '_if he didn't believe me, I'd probably be dead already._'

Derek's thoughts ran in similar circles, the elder youkai's silence making him uneasy. He could almost smell the intense concentration coming off of Sesshoumaru, an acrid stench like wood being burned…

'_No, wait…_' he thought, horrified, '_is that really smoke I'm smelling? That's way too much scent for just a campfire!_'

He stopped as Sesshoumaru did, both raising their noses slightly and scenting the wind. Amy straightened herself up once more, looking quickly between the two males. '_Damn this time of the month!_' she cursed silently. "What's up, guys?" she said aloud.

"Smoke, and lots of it." Derek said grimly, shifting Rin. "Coming from the direction we're heading."

"Not only that." Sesshoumaru said quietly. "The scent of jyaki also fills the air. There is a human village before my fortress." he stated indifferently. "The scents indicate that someone has attacked it."

Even Amy could smell the smoke now, winding through the trees and causing both her and Rin to cough, though somehow the little girl still managed to stay asleep. Amy cast an envious look at her before addressing Sesshoumaru.

"So, are we going to help out, or what?" she asked almost peevishly, her upturned face mere inches from his.

"Or what, hanyou. Unless we are attacked on our way through, I have no intention of interfering." the lord stated in his coldest tones, even as he resumed his running pace.

"You can't do that!" she yelped. "There're probably defenseless women and children there – you don't honestly intend to just let them die, do you?"

"They are human." he said contemptuously. "They are dead already, and have merely failed to realize that fact."

If Amy's ears could have flattened, they would have. Fury sparked in her eyes as she hissed at him.

"And what about Rin? Is _she_ only dead already, and merely doesn't realize it?"

'_On second thought, that might not have been the smartest thing to say,_' Amy reflected as molten amber eyes met her own.

"Rin is a different story, hanyou. Don't you dare to compare her with that…_filth._" he spat.

Their noses a mere inch apart, Amy tried to calm herself down before she riled the irate lord further. '_Wait…he's a lord…_'

"Never mind that they're human. Isn't this village in your domain?" she asked quietly, not breaking their stare down.

"Yes. It is." he bit out, wondering at her sudden change in tactics.

"So…wouldn't that make that village your property, and everyone in it your vassals?" she said quickly.

"And what would this Sesshoumaru care if one human village in his lands was destroyed?" he said contemptuously.

If it wouldn't have broken their staring contest, Amy would have rolled her eyes.

"What's the point in ruling a land if there is no one _left_ to be ruled, Sesshoumaru?" she said quietly. "The first law of a being a _good_ ruler is to _protect_ that which you rule." '_You dumb ass_', she added in her head.

"Besides," she continued, trying to appeal to his pride, "what are the chances that a village in your land is being burned to the ground by another youkai, and that it isn't an attempt to insult you? Are you really going to let whoever it is to just get away with thinking that?"

Sesshoumaru wasn't blind to what the hanyou was trying to do, even if she was making a convincing argument. "Calm yourself, woman. We must pass by this village, regardless. We will soon know who has attacked it, and why."

Amy tried once more to cross her arms, giving up in irritation when the fluff kept getting in her way. "Good." she said crossly. '_There'll probably be wounded that'll need my help._' she thought, before mentally smacking herself. '_Damn it! That toad still has my bag!_ _That's it!' _she swore. '_From now on, nobody carries my stuff but ME!'_

As Sesshoumaru's pace increased, she worriedly looked to the eastern sky. Already she could see the faint light of false dawn.

Not only was she without her medical supplies, chances were good that Derek would be a wolf again before they even set foot in the ravaged village.

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"Inu Yasha!" Kagome yelled in frustration. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"You honestly don't think I'm going to just let Miroku and Sango go investigate by themselves, do you?" he said crossly, one hand already tensely gripping Tetsusaiga's hilt

"But it's not dawn yet, Inu Yasha." Shippo piped up. "Getting yourself killed isn't going to impress anybody."

"Why you…" Inu Yasha growled, one hand already raised in a fist.

"Kagome! Wah!" Shippo screeched, flinging himself onto the miko's shoulder.

The hard look in the miko's eyes stopped the hanyou turned human dead in his tracks.

"He has a point, Inu Yasha." she said crossly.

"But I…" he managed to say in frustration before Kagome cut him off.

"But _nothing_, Inu Yasha! Why do you have to be a jerk when all we try to do is protect you, you idiot! If your bones weren't human right now, I would be SO tempted to say You-Know-What!" she yelled.

"Eh, Kagome…" he said quietly.

"What?" she said crossly.

He leaned forward, hands tucked into his sleeves, staring at the skin under her eyes. "Did you know that when you scream like that, you get wrinkles under your eyes?"

Inu Yasha suddenly found himself facing a basilisk wearing Kagome's face. A giant basilisk. With sharp, pointy teeth.

"No." she said coldly, her stare rooting him to the ground and making him feel about two inches tall. "I was quite unaware of that fact, thank you very much for informing me otherwise."

Although Shippo quite enjoyed seeing Kagome intimidate Inu Yasha, he didn't like seeing his friends get so upset with each other. '_Inu Yasha just doesn't like knowing he's pretty defenseless right now._' Shippo thought. '_He hates it when he feels like he has to rely on everyone else, and that's why he's trying to insist that we all should investigate that jyaki that Miroku felt._' He sniffed, and looked around for something to distract Kagome before she and Inu Yasha really got into it.

His ears and tail perked up as a heavily burdened shadow emerged along the trail. A short, heavily burdened shadow. With a strangely familiar staff…

"Umm, Kagome? Inu Yasha?" Shippo said quietly, wincing as their stare down broke with an almost audible crack.

"What, brat?" "Yes, Shippo?" the two replied simultaneously, briefly glaring at one another until Shippo sighed and pointed down the trail.

"Someone's coming this way."

"Shit!" Inu Yasha exclaimed, quickly pulling back into the shadows. '_Damn it, I don't have enough time to get into a tree without bringing attention to myself. Shit!_'

Kagome looked nervous for all of two seconds, before pulling herself up to her full height and bringing her bow to bear. "Who goes there?" she called out, proud of the steadiness of her voice.

"How dare _you_ ask _me_ that, wench? If anyone asks who is intruding in these lands, it should be me, Jakken!" the toad squawked indignantly as he entered the firelight in their clearing.

"Oh." she said almost disappointedly, dropping her bow a notch. "It's only you."

"Eh, Jakken, what brings you here?" Inu Yasha asked, still veiled by the shadows.

Jakken sniffed the air suspiciously. '_Human, I smell. Fox youkai, I smell. Hanyou…I do not smell. Hmmm…' _

Eyes narrowing, he deigned to answer his master's hidden half-brother. "I am on a very important mission for Lord Sesshoumaru, whelp. And what would you happen to be doing in these lands, Inu Yasha?"

Sensing the tenseness of the situation, Kagome stepped in. "We're just passing through, Jakken. The monk sensed a great deal of jyaki in the nearest human village, and wished to investigate."

Hmphing in irritation, the imp made to walk around Kagome. "What goes on in these lands is none of your concern, human. You and your group should leave here…immediately." he said coldly.

As he walked by, Kagome swiftly reached out and picked him up by the bag slung on his back. "Where did you get this, Jakken?" she asked sharply.

Limbs flailing wildly after the staff that he'd dropped, Jakken squawked out, "That is none of your business, human!"

Holding him up so that she was facing him nose-to-nose, Kagome nearly growled. "This pack is of human making, toad. That _makes_ it my business."

Inu Yasha started from the shadows, barely restraining himself from walking out. "Is it from your…homeland, Kagome?"

"No." she said coldly, still staring the toad down. "Judging from the manu…craftsman's mark on it, it was made in the land of…one of our allies." She shook the toad, ignoring the stream of indignant curses that emerged from his beak-like mouth. "Start talking, Jakken. Where'd you get this?"

The toad hmphed, indignantly crossing his arms. "If you must know, I am carrying it for a companion of Lord Sesshoumaru's."

Kagome and Inu Yasha exchanged a startled look. "The wolf princess?" Kagome said quickly.

Jakken quirked an eyebrow. "No, a wolf hanyou. There's no way that uncouth woman is a princess!" he snorted.

Inu Yasha laughed. "If you say so, Jakken. Kouga's wolves seem pretty convinced of her social standing, though."

Jakken hmphed. "Her social status among the wolves carries no weight with a youkai of your noble brother's stature."

A soft keh issued from the trees. "She must bring him _some_ advantage, Jakken, if he is willing to put up with the company of a half-breed. Tell me, what is my hanyou-hater of a brother doing with a wench like her?"

Jakken stiffened in Kagome's grip. This was a question he'd asked himself many times over the last two days, and he was no closer to an answer now than he'd been the first time he pondered it.

"Your noble brother is not answerable to you on any matter, Inu Yasha, least of all on his choice of companions." He settled for sneering instead, hiding his lack of knowledge. "Lord Sesshoumaru's reasons on this matter are his own."

If he didn't know better, he'd swear that idiot of a hanyou was softly laughing at him.

"You might as well let him go, Kagome. We're not going to get anything else out of him."

Suddenly released, the imp scrambled for his staff before giving the flinty-eyed priestess a glare of his own. Turning on his heel, he stomped off in indignation without giving the three companions a second glance.

"So…" Shippo said as the imp faded into the darkness. "What was that all about?"

The temporary human emerged from his hiding place, quietly laughing. At his companions' raised eyebrows and curious looks, he explained himself.

"In other words, he doesn't know. He has no clue why Sesshoumaru is with that hanyou, and it bugs the hell out of him." Inu Yasha chuckled.

"That bag…" Kagome said quietly. "It was machine-sewn, Inu Yasha."

His soft laughter stopped as suddenly as it had started. "It is from your time then, Kagome?"

She nodded. "There was a manufacturer's logo on the clasp. That bag was made by an American company, Inu Yasha."

"Kagome? Does this mean that this princess is from your time?" Shippo asked, barely containing his excitement.

The priestess nodded her head grimly. "The United States of America won't exist for nearly two centuries, Shippo, and the technology that went into the making of that backpack won't appear for nearly four. If that princess brought it here, then it is likely she is from my time, yes."

She stared out in the direction the imp had gone. "Except for a very few beings who used the Bone Eater's Well, Shippo, I have never seen anyone in my time who had youkai blood. I never even thought of youkai existing in the New World. But why on Earth would an American wolf hanyou be here, looking for family treasures in the Sengoku Jidai?" Kagome pondered softly.

**8888888888**

"_Oh my God_." Amy whispered, horrified, as Sesshoumaru slowly allowed her to slip to the ground.

The village…what was left was slowly becoming smoldering ash. Flames still roared in spots, the screams of dying livestock filling the air in a macabre symphony.

Derek carefully set Rin down on the ground, torn between waking her and allowing her to sleep through the horror that they now faced. He could no longer hold onto the child. Already he could feel dawn's treacherous rays, the first whispers of his youki seductively slipping under his skin with promises of power.

Power that would only entrap him.

"Aunt Amy, Lord Sesshoumaru." Derek said, his tongue growing thick in his mouth and causing his words to slur. "Dawn is almost here. I can't…I can't carry Rin anymore."

Amy also felt the sun's power, the hair on her arms stiffening as each photon slipped over the horizon. "It's okay, Derek," she whispered, fighting the urge to just close her eyes to the ruins before her and bask in the stolen power that was slowly sweeping into her.

Rin slept on, leaving Sesshoumaru their sole witness as sunrise overtook the two half-breeds. Derek's transformation was the more dramatic of the two, with the increasing light slowly seeing his form change from that of a young boy to that of a giant black wolf, his only markings the silver tips of his ears and his tail. With a stretch and a shake he seemed to settle comfortably into his other form, though he could not keep a hint of sadness from entering his midnight colored eyes.

Amaya simply seemed to become…more _her_, Sesshoumaru decided. As the youki surrounding her infused her still form, her coloring became more and more dramatic, until only a few traces of brown were left in her hair. Her skin glowed so luminously that Sesshoumaru wondered briefly if it would burst, and her body seemed to grow much more solid, until her human form seemed but the insubstantial ghost of an idle daydream.

His eyebrow raised as Tenseiga began to pulse in time with her growing youki. Sparks swirled around the woman as the youki discharged itself in electric snaps, until her glowing red eyes snapped open and her lips parted in a soundless howl.

With an audible "Pop!" the glow around Amaya vanished, and Sesshoumaru was left wondering as she briskly shook herself and turned her green gaze upon him. The sword had lain almost dormant while she had been trapped in human form but now, judging from the shockwaves radiating throughout his body, it seemed to be making up for its day of silence. _'Tenseiga…' _he mused, _'are you welcoming her power back?_'

Amy gazed at Sesshoumaru, mourning the slight loss of color vision that came with her hanyou sight. Oh, she was by no means color-blind, and her night vision in this form was much better than it was when she was a human. But some colors just could not be seen as brightly in these eyes as they could through her human ones.

She shook herself, raising her head to meet Sesshoumaru's distracted gaze. Shrugging, she glanced at the children, shoulders slumping when she met the sad eyes of the wolf. '_Soon..._' she promised herself, '_soon we will have the Talisman back, and neither of us will be trapped in forms that we do not choose to be in._'

"Do you two smell anything other than ash?" she asked softly, her own nose twitching as she scented the air. Man, but she _had_ missed the strength of this sense.

The wolf barked a low negative, while Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed in concentration. "There are humans to the far end of the village," he said finally, "but the scent of jyaki is much closer to us."

Amy stiffened. "If the humans are still alive, they will probably need the help of a healer." she said firmly. "I'm going to go check it out."

As she turned to stride off, Sesshoumaru's hand shot out and grabbed her by the elbow. '_Now why does this seem familiar?_' she thought almost bemusedly.

"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru?" she asked politely, her left eyebrow quirking up. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Sesshoumaru snorted. "Don't be foolish. Even if the humans are still alive, they are probably already beyond your aid."

Her temper flared. "Don't count on it, Sesshoumaru. My aid can be considerable." She tugged at her captive elbow, glaring at him when he refused to release it.

"Derek." he said coolly, his attention never wavering from her angry eyes. "If Rin rides on your back, can you take her to my fortress? It is not far, now."

At his affirmative yelp, Sesshoumaru broke eye contact with her.

"Rin." he said firmly, yet not loudly. "Wake up."

To the wolves' amazement, the little girl's eyes fluttered open, her mouth opening in a yawn even as she stood up and stretched. "Yes, my lord?" she said sleepily, her eyes barely open.

"You know the way home from here, Rin?" he said, his grip tightening on Amaya's elbow as she began to lean away from him.

Rin nodded, her eyes widening as she began to realize what lay in front of them.

"Good." Sesshoumaru said before she could react. "You and Derek are to go there immediately. He has agreed to carry you on his back, but you must hold onto him and act as his guide. Is that understood?"

She nodded quickly, showing only a hint of hesitation before she obeyed her lord and jumped on the black wolf's back. '_Wow, I think he's had a growth spurt,_' Amy thought, disconcerted by the difference in the children's sizes. '_Why, he looks as big as a pony, compared to her!_'

"Would you let go of me now, please?" she said testily, watching the children as they disappeared back into the woods. '_Good boy. It'll be safer for them to remain in the cover it provides, and just skirt the village._' she thought approvingly.

Sesshoumaru released her arm, watching as she rubbed circulation back into the lower half of her limb. "The youkai that did this…I can still smell him, not just his jyaki."

"Him? It's a male, then?" she said in surprise. "With all the smoke in the air, how can you tell?"

At his smug, superior look, Amy rolled her eyes. "Never mind. I don't want to hear about how much better your senses are than mine right now, oh mighty Lord Sesshoumaru." she said sarcastically. "Which way is the punk?"

"Between us and the remaining humans." Sesshoumaru shrugged off her sarcasm, though her lack of respect was beginning to grate on his nerves. "Help them if you wish, hanyou." His lips parted in a disturbing parody of a smile, making the little hairs on the back of her neck stiffen in distaste.

"But leave the intruder to this Sesshoumaru."

She nodded, falling in step behind him as they entered the village proper.

'_God, I'm glad the kids aren't seeing this._' she thought, her stomach roiling as the smells of fire and death seemed to engulf them.

Her ears pricked as she caught the faint sound of sobs, and her pace increased. Breaking into a run, she followed the sound of crying, not caring that Sesshoumaru was keeping pace just behind her.

'_Dear God, did _any_ of the buildings survive this?_' she thought in despair, leaping out of the way as a hut crashed to the street in front of her. Gathering her leg muscles, she leapt over the debris and landed running, Sesshoumaru her silent shadow.

The crying was louder now, and Amy could start sorting out scents to match the sound. More than one person was crying, although the loudest sounded like a young female.

It didn't take long to find them, and Amy barely registered Sesshoumaru sharply veering away from her once she reached them. A group of four humans sat huddled on the outskirts of the village, watching her approach with something akin to horror. An old man and woman embraced each other, the woman's eyes peering fearfully over her husband's arm. A younger woman and a girl child were huddled over a blackened pile, shaking and wailing. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realized that it was the child that she'd heard first, crying for her father.

Holding her hands out in a peaceful gesture, Amy slowly approached the group. "What happened?" she asked softly, reassuringly, stopping close enough for them to see her, but far enough away to reassure them.

"Are you a youkai?" the old man asked suspiciously, his arms tightening about his wife as she buried his face fearfully in his shoulder.

"No." Amy replied, keeping her tone as calm and soothing as she possibly could. "I am Amaya, and I am a healer. What has happened here?" she asked again.

The young woman looked up, her eyes wide in shock and hope. "Lady Healer! Can you help my husband?" she asked frantically.

Amy's heart sank as the woman's movement revealed the extent of the man's injuries. All of his hair had been singed away, and burn marks covered half of his face and most of his upper body. "I can try." she said firmly, quickly striding forward and kneeling behind the unconscious man's head.

"If nothing else," she said gently, placing a palm on each of the unconscious man's temples, "I can lessen his pain."

As she felt her healing energy sweep like a cooling wind through her patient's body, Amy closed her eyes, focusing on his aura. Her heart sank further as she discovered that not only did he suffer from severe burns, several of his ribs were broken and most of his major internal organs were bleeding heavily. '_Dear God, somebody beat the crap out of him, and then set him on fire!_' she thought indignantly, slowly feeding her power into his aura so that his internal wounds would heal first.

Once she was satisfied that his body could finish the healing on its own, she focused on the burn marks covering his body. He would never again be handsome, she realized sadly, if indeed he had ever been. He would, however, regain full use of his left arm despite the scar tissue.

What worried her most about his cosmetic injuries was his face. Moving her softly glowing left hand from his temple, she covered his burned left eye and poured her own healing energy into him. '_Please work,_' she thought faintly, '_please work!_'

The angry burns on his face began to fade, healthy flesh appearing as the charred flaked away. Amy frowned in concentration, sighing as she realized that his body had reached its limits for fast healing. She opened her eyes, looking sadly down at her patient's face.

If he was lucky, he would regain sight in the eye. His face was indeed scarred for life, but was much better than it would have been had she not aided him.

The scarred flesh was still an angry red, and Amy frowned at its odd shape. Shifting, she looked at it from different angles before she realized _why_ it looked odd.

Perfectly printed across her patient's face was the imprint of a giant hand.

Settling back, Amy bowed her head as she sighed. "He will live, but his body must finish healing on its own."

"Thank you, Lady Healer." the young woman breathed and, to Amy's surprise, bowed low to the ground, the child copying her elder's movement. Feeling the wind shift, Amy was shocked to look at her side and discover the elderly couple bowing as well.

"You are welcome, all of you." she said softly. "Now, would somebody _please_ tell me what happened?"

The young woman raised herself, refusing to meet Amy's eyes. "We were attacked by a strange youkai." she said softly. "My husband is the headman of this village, and he led our men in the defense against it." The young woman's arm swept out in a scornful gesture, directing Amy's gaze to their decimated home. "The youkai said that he was but a messenger, that his lord required soldiers and that if our men did not come willingly that they would be killed. When my husband refused, our men foolishly attacked the youkai. After…" her voice choked, but she quickly resumed in a scornful tone, "after my husband had fallen, the youkai said that he would be merciful so long as the remaining men went north to join with his lord. As soon as they departed, the youkai decimated our village and slaughtered the defenseless people left in it, as a lesson to others who would defy his lord. We were left alive so that we would live in shame, knowing that our people died while we could do _nothing._"

Amy made a sympathetic sound, and placed her hand gently on the grieving woman's shoulder. "No, not nothing." she said gently, "because now you can spread the word of what this lord's 'mercy' really is. What are the names of this horrible youkai, and his despicable leader?"

Amy was suddenly overcome by a feeling of dread, the people in front of her fading as her more primal senses kicked into overdrive. '_Jyaki…omigod, how did I miss sensing this much jyaki?_' she thought in panic as a shadow loomed over her and silenced the now-trembling human woman.

Heat bathed her back as she slowly turned to look behind her. Giant feet filled her vision, drawing her gaze upwards, upwards past legs like redwood trees, past a torso that looked carved from a cliff side, to a face that was straight out of a Grimm brother's nightmare.

Saying this youkai was ugly was an understatement.

Saying that he was scary as hell simply did not do him justice.

For a brief moment, Amy trembled with fear before squaring her shoulders and boldly gazing the giant straight in the eye. "And just who the hell are you?" she yelled out bravely, quickly standing and unsheathing her dagger, ready to protect her patient as well as the other humans.

Red teeth like stalagmites grinned down at her, leering in a horrifying fashion. '_I take it he's never heard of dentists?_' Amy thought distractedly, trying to ignore the overwhelming stench of sulfur that issued from his mouth.

"Ingrid's description of you does not do you justice, Princess Amaya of the Moon Wolf Clan." the giant purred, his velvety voice a shocking contrast to his roughly-formed exterior. "It truly is a pity that my lord Naraku has promised to give that woman your head – I would have greatly enjoyed having a beauty such as you to warm my bed." He laughed at the disgusted look that crossed her face. "Oh my, 'tis truly a pity. I would have enjoyed teaching you to keep such unbecoming looks off of your face, that I would."

"You know, I don't know who the hell you are, but I can already tell that you are one sick bastard!" Amy yelled defiantly at him, forcing the bile that had risen at his words to go back down her throat.

"Coming from Ingrid's only living descendant?" he said mockingly. "I shall take that as a compliment, Princess Amaya." He bowed slightly to her, a giant caricature of a gentile courtier.

"Allow me to introduce myself, princess. I am the latest incarnation of Naraku, his deadliest warrior, and the last opponent you will ever face.

"I am Fudomaru, the Burning Death."

**888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

_**A/N**: Dun-dun-dun! 'end dramatic music' So, should Sesshoumaru come to the rescue, or should Amy do her own ass-kicking? I'm leaning towards Amy…my girl has a couple surprises up her sleeve!_

_I really hate to leave this chapter as a cliffie, but I'm already almost a week late in updating this story (blame my stupid house – some of our electrical wiring went bad, and my computer didn't have power for a good two weeks), plus this update is over 7,000 words long, and that's not including all of my notes (could have made it shorter, but that would have meant an extremely boring and dull "lull chapter", whereas this way, we know the next chapter will be jam-packed with fight scenes). Also, how was my lead up to the revelation that Ingrid is Amaya's grandmother? Good? Bad? Obvious as heck? I'd really like to know – foreshadowing isn't one of my strong points._

_On to Reviewer Responses:_

_Ephona: Thank you very much for your kind review. I'd actually been quite depressed because the last chapter had been up for two days and no one had reviewed it – I was feeling quite unloved until your review popped up in my inbox. Thank you. _

_Catz: Your reviews are a balm to my soul and an energizer for my spirit, Catz. I'm very lucky to have a reader like you. Please don't ever leave me?_

_**Make this review whore happy – push the button!**_


	7. Pride and Joy

**_Disclaimer: Still not mine. Am firing elephants. Let the search for new hench animals begin!_**

_A/N: This chapter is rated T for language and violence, which means - fight scenes! Don't have a lot of practice writing those, which basically means that my fight scenes suck. If you care to disagree or offer constructive criticism on fight scene writing, please push the little blue button and leave me a review. _

_The attempt, however, was made for you, **Catz**. Consider this chapter dedicated thus._

_And yay! Reviews! You guys sure know how to make a gal feel loved, you know that? '_hugs everybody.'_ Now I feel really bad that it's been more than a month since my last update…if you want to know about the crappy, unproductive month I've had, go to my profile and check out my Livejournal. If not...without further ado…_

**Repost comment**_: Well, I decided to go over this story with a fine-tooth comb and repost it all before I get the next bit up. I hope to have a short interlude posted by midnight on the 8th of April, with the next full chapter about a week behind it._

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**Sibling Blades: Pride and Joy**

**88888888888888888888888888888888888888**

Sesshoumaru veered sharply away from his companion, allowing her to continue to the group of humans. The youkai scent he sought was moving, and at least with the humans she should be able to keep herself out of trouble.

He didn't like this. All around him huts collapsed under the weight of their burning roofs, the harsh scent of the smoke making his nostrils ache.

And woven through it all was the scent of a particular enemy, beckoning him, taunting the most base of his instincts.

Naraku.

Sesshoumaru growled, his hand grasping Tokijin's hilt in preparation. '_Surely the bastard has more sense than this, to so brazenly attack within my own domain?_' His eyes narrowed. '_Of course, he does. Naraku never does anything without a reason, no matter how trivial it may be.'_

'_But what could have led him to make such a foolish decision?'_

Sesshoumaru's pace slowed as his enemy's scent grew stronger, fouling the air more than the cloying smoke. He casually entered what had been the main thoroughfare of the small village, his golden eyes warily scanning around him as his nose continued scenting the air.

Something…was not right.

'_The half-breed's jyaki…I should be sensing that right now, smelling it, not just that coward's scent.' _Sesshoumaru realized, his grip tightening on Tokijin. '_Does this mean…_'

"How nice of you to finally join us, Lord Sesshoumaru."

The small hairs on the back of his neck rose as he looked disdainfully over his shoulder, regarding the small human female who had had the nerve to sneak up behind him.

She was short, barely reaching the top of his breastplate. Her head was tilted quizzically to one side, her silver-streaked mahogany hair falling past her elbow to pool with the long lock of silver-tipped black hair tied to her sword's pommel. Her traditional, red-hued, armor was that of a samurai warrior, though it was seldom that Sesshoumaru met a samurai who carried a broadsword made in the Chinese style rather than one of their traditional blades, the katana.

Behind her, a shadow stretched along the ground, though Sesshoumaru was not fooled into believing that the twisting, bubbling mass was a result of her blocking the rising sun. It crept and crawled around the human's feet, twisting and rolling itself like a spoiled cat begging for attention.

Or like an obedient dog that had been called to heel.

Sesshoumaru forced himself still, his dispassionate stare boring into the human's unusually light eyes. Hauntingly familiar eyes…

His own eyes narrowed fractionally as the woman began to chuckle. His head tilted in silent inquiry, even as her chuckles slowed and she waved her left hand in a negligent gesture before allowing it to rest dramatically over her heart.

"It simply is too perfect that you are here, Lord Sesshoumaru." she purred, her free hand playing with the hair decorating her sword's hilt. "Naraku was quite…insistent that you were a foe to be taken seriously."

His head tilted slightly in acknowledgement, even as he refused to verbally acknowledge her words.

"Although," she said bemusedly, her hand rising from her heart to rub her chin, "I do wonder how you will fare when faced against my sharp friend here." Her right hand ceased its stroking gestures and firmly grasped the broadsword's hilt, drawing it in a smooth motion from her sash. A silent pulse, and a cold wind began to emanate from the woman, its chill so slight that it barely registered to Sesshoumaru's heightened senses. His nose wrinkled in disgust. '_Fool. It takes youki to power a youkai blade; youki that a human does not possess. What can she possibly hope to accomplish?_'

"Fudomaru." she said coldly, obviously not addressing the youkai before her though her gaze never left him. "Leave us."

The shadow pulled back from her feet, coalescing from its smoky form into that of a giant red oni. The monster curled his upper lip in disgust, his gaze flickering briefly over the human before resting disdainfully on Sesshoumaru.

"Our master did not order you to fight him alone, woman." the oni sneered, his arms crossing in defiance.

A muscle along her jaw jumped in annoyance. "Irrelevant. Your prey is elsewhere, you stupid creature. Seek it out and leave me be."

The giant oni inhaled sharply, gathering breath to lash the human's ears. The woman's head whipped sharply to the side, her gaze boring into the oni's soulless black eyes even as her armor began to writhe around her.

"Remember who you serve, idiot." she hissed, tentacles growing from the shoulders of her armor, obviously itching to wrap around the oni's throat even as he sneered and turned to leave, his spider-marked back exposed to the watching taiyoukai.

'_Her armor, that oni…_' Sesshoumaru realized in astonishment, '_they are where Naraku's scent is coming from. They are both detachments of Naraku!_'

Tokijin seemed to unsheathe itself even as the oni retreated, the deadly blade pointing at the woman before she could turn to fully face him once more.

Her eyebrow raised, the smile on her lips not reaching her cold eyes. "My, my, and we've only just met."

"Who are you?" he asked quietly, calmly, yet commandingly.

The smile on her lips faded as she brandished her own broadsword, her armor's tentacles writhing in obvious annoyance. "Who am I?" she asked mockingly, her sword sweeping up into a blocking position even as a dread-filled wave began to emanate from the curved blade.

"All you need know, Sesshoumaru, is that I am your death!"

**8888888888**

"Miroku," Sango said, her voice resonating oddly from behind her poison mask, her grip tight on Haraikotsu, "do you feel anything?"

Kirara walked steadily ahead of the pair, her tails lashing as her low growls gently broke the silence that permeated the air.

The monk started to shake his head, stopping in mid-motion as Kirara's growls increased in volume.

"I sense both youki and jyaki." His brow furrowed in concentration, his staff held out in front of him almost, but not quite, like a dowsing rod. His mouth turned down in a frown. "Unfortunately, it is coming from two different directions."

"Two youkai, then?" Sango said, hoisting Haraikotsu higher on her back.

The monk nodded solemnly, his gaze meeting the calm, determined eyes of his companion. "At the very least. It would seem that we have a choice, my dear Sango. Do we split up, or do we choose one target?"

Thunder rolled in the skies even as Sango sighed, her breath whistling through her mask. "You know, this is one of those days I wish we would have waited for Inu Yasha and Kagome."

**8888888888**.

Amy stared up at the oni's lecherous face, his hot breath making her skin twitch even as she tried to force herself to remain still. '_Anger is a warrior's greatest enemy, followed only by fear._' she reminded herself grimly, her fingers tight around Kietsu's hilt.

She'd left her a memento at their last meeting, Ingrid had, though she had done so unknowingly.

Buried deep in the wound in Amy's back had been a single broken sliver from Jiman's blade. A single sliver that she had had melted down and combined with one of her own fangs, then forged into her own diminutive, but highly effective, weapon.

'_Though,_' she reflected, scenting the air, '_on second thought, maybe I better not waste it on this shit head._'

Storm clouds began building on the horizon, lightning crackling through the sky. She slid Kietsu back in its sheath, and could not hold back a small smile.

The oni fought the urge to step backward at the sight of that eerie smile. He had nothing to fear – he had been created with the wolf's demise in mind, after all. He sneered down at her as she pushed her dark sleeves up past her elbows, baring the thick leather bracers she wore on her wrists, and fought a feeling of foreboding as she raised one hand, palm up, towards the stormy sky.

Lightning crackled above them, dancing from cloud to rising cloud. Sparks began to fly between the tips of the hanyou's claws, dancing in time with their larger siblings.

"My last opponent?" she practically purred, her voice husky as her eyelids began to droop. "You should learn some humility, Fudomaru."

The sparks between her claws began to thicken, and she brought her other hand up to contain the coalescing ball of energy. "Razing a single village, Fudomaru, does not automatically qualify you as a worthy OPPONENT!" she screamed, jumping into the air and throwing the energy ball directly at his eyes.

As he lifted a hand to swat the ball aside, Amy's foot crashed into his ribs, forcing him to slide back several feet. She bounced backwards, her feet digging twin furrows in the ground as she landed and slid. She glanced behind her, snorting when she saw the unmoving humans.

"Get out of here!" she screamed, turning to face Fudomaru only to see his fist careening towards her. She jumped backwards, dodging every blow he tried to land, before running up his arm and kicking him in the face. As he howled, she back-flipped, hovering in mid-air.

It was there that she made her first mistake.

With her attention caught on the still motionless humans, Fudomaru's right fist finally connected with her abdomen, sending her crashing into the ground.

She slid backwards, her body creating a trench several feet deep in the soft earth. She struggled to stand, barely dodging the open-handed strike Fudomaru aimed at her already damaged midsection. Lightning crashed, Fudomaru barely leaping out of the way of a vengeful bolt. With a snarl, he leaped after the bruised princess, knocking her to the ground with a backhand to her face. With a grin, he pressed his searing hot palm into her midsection as he wrapped his other hand around her throat, gazing with open lust at the pained look that crossed her face.

Her head forced to tilt back, she saw the humans finally get a clue as they started to panic and flee. '_Sheesh, you think they'd have learned that running _away _from danger was a good thing by now!_' she thought sarcastically, forcing a frightened look onto her face, though the stench of her shirt burning away and the growing heat on her throat was making that a simple task.

Savoring the look of fear on the woman's face, Fudomaru couldn't resist leaning closer, forcing his giant knee between her legs as he lowered his mouth to her ear, his breath hot and smelling of burnt bone as it gently caressed her face.

"I told you, princess…" he whispered, "that I would be your last opponent."

'_As if_,' she thought, disgusted at the unsubtle way he was rubbing his knee against her inner thigh. She gathered her youki tightly within her, letting it build until she could barely keep it from sparking at her claws.

"Fudomaru," she whispered hoarsely, squirming against his burning palms, "go fuck yourself."

As the lightning crashed around them, she slashed at his eyes…and released the youki gathered in her fingertips.

**8888888888**.

Jakken took one look at the burning village, and hmphed softly in irritation. '_Foolish humans, when will they learn how to properly defend themselves?'_

He sighed. Much as he would have loved to terrorize a few of those wretched beasts himself, his orders were his orders, and it was already past dawn.

No, it was best for him to just skirt the village altogether, and continue making all due haste to his lord's stronghold.

He turned a worried eye to the gathering storm clouds, his concern growing as lightning raced across the sky. '_That,_' he thought, '_is most definitely not normal. I should inform Lord Sesshoumaru of this._'

Quickening his pace, Jakken continued on his way without any further glances at the dying village.

**8888888888**

The woman was fast, inhumanly fast. Sesshoumaru, with two slices in the right arm of his haori and one in each leg of his hakama, felt compelled to admit that, even if it was just to himself.

But her speed was her only advantage. Her swordsmanship was poor, almost child-like in its quality. The youki attack that she had attempted to use on him was thwarted almost immediately by one slice of Tokijin, though Sesshoumaru would never forget that first few moments when fear had crept into his heart and bound it with icy fingers.

It had felt…he shook his head, retraining his concentration on his grinning opponent. Never mind what it had felt like. Every time he had pressed her, every time he had used one of Tokijin's attacks, she had managed to dodge his blow, usually landing one on him instead.

His eyes narrowed. Obviously this situation would have to be rectified.

The woman slid one foot forward, returning her sword to a guard position. "My, my, Lord Sesshoumaru. I had expected more of a challenge from you."

A snarl graced his lips, even as he barely kept the growl from leaving his mouth. Lightning crashed in the sky above them, and thunder rolled in its wake.

For a moment, Sesshoumaru thought he saw a flicker of fear in the woman's eyes, though in the next they were once more steeled.

A smirk replaced the snarl upon his lips. It would appear that there was something he could use against his speedy opponent, after all.

As the thunder rolled above them, Sesshoumaru waited patiently for the frozen woman to make her next move.

**8888888888**.

"Hurry, Inu Yasha!" Kagome leaned in closer to the hanyou's ear, Shippo shielded between their bodies as Inu Yasha carried them both towards the decimated village.

"Will you be quiet?" he shot back, his steps slowing as his nose started to go nuts. "It's hard enough smelling where they went through all this smoke, I don't need you distracting me, too."

After running into Jakken, Kagome had reluctantly agreed that they probably shouldn't let Miroku and Sango continue on their own. There was no telling who they would run into, and the thought of them meeting Sesshoumaru on a bad day, without Inu Yasha to distract him…Kagome shuddered. '_Nope,_' she thought firmly, '_I'm not even going to go there. Besides, they have more sense than to get in his way, right? Right?_'

Kagome fretted quietly on Inu Yasha's back, her pep talk somehow not succeeding in reassuring her that their friends wouldn't do anything stupid.

A sharp _ping_ resonated somewhere in her soul, jerking her head up. "Inu Yasha!" she yelled over the rising wind.

"What? I thought I told you to be quiet!" he yelled back, one fuzzy ear swiveling in her direction.

Kagome fought down the temptation to grab his ear, just to make sure that his attention didn't go anywhere. "I sense a Shikon shard!" She pointed dutifully to the northeast, her arm a clear beacon. "That way!"

"Shit!" Inu Yasha exclaimed, changing his direction, picking up his pace even as his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"What?" she yelled, even as Shippo buried himself deeper into Inu Yasha's hair.

Even without seeing his face, Kagome could tell her companion's lips had flattened.

"I smell Sesshoumaru." A low growl broke from his throat. "And, it's faint, but I also smell Naraku! What the hell does Sesshoumaru think he's doing, fighting that bastard when he knows that _I'm_ the one that's gonna kill him!"

Kagome just shook her head as Inu Yasha ranted, and clutched him tighter as his pace increased from running to flying.

**8888888888**

"Miroku, remind me again why we decided to go this way?" Sango shouted over the rising wind, the near-continuous light show in the sky making it difficult for her companion to hear her.

"Because the largest amount of youki is this way!" he shouted back, the rings of his staff jangling insanely as he tightened his grip on Sango, Kirara whipping and dodging around the remains of the burning village as the rising wind caused already unstable buildings to topple into their path.

With a hard shove against the ground, the fire cat rose into the air, steadily making her way in the direction Miroku had appointed. '_Though,_' Miroku mused silently as Kirara barely dodged a hissing lighting bolt, '_I'm not sure which is more hazardous right now – the fire on the ground, or the fire in the sky._'

Miroku stiffened as the youki in the air spiked. "Sango!" he cried over the wind, leaning even closer into his lovely companion. "I think we should hurry!"

**8888888888**.

The oni shrieked as her claws sank into his left eye, her lightning claw attack cauterizing even his molten flesh as it ripped open and spilled around her fingers.

Amy grunted as she tore her claws from his face, and pulled her legs up and together to kick viciously at the distracted oni's chest.

'_Teach him for ruining one of my favorite shirts. Jack ass!' _she thought gleefully as he was forced off of her, his shrieking growing louder as he hit his back and she hit her feet.

Amy warily resumed a ready stance, lightning backlighting the sky as she watched the oni roll in agony. '_Damn,_' she thought warily, '_I need to finish him off before he starts to recover. But where the hell do you land a killing blow on a fire oni?'_

With a flick of her wrist, Kietsu was unsheathed, its sharp edge gleaming in the cloud-obscured light.

'_Shit. I really thought I wouldn't have to waste Kietsu on him._' she thought in disgust, one eye watching the lightning that danced in sympathy with her flaring aura. '_But my youki isn't fully recovered yet – if I keep using it up like this, I'll be exhausted in no time!'_

She stalked warily towards the writhing oni, looking for a weak spot, any weak spot, to strike at.

"Woman…" She froze at the strangled sound that escaped her opponent's lips, taking a step backwards as he rose to his feet.

"You bastard! Aren't you dead yet?" she said with false bravery, forcing her feet to stay still.

Fudomaru growled, his fists bursting into flame, his remaining eye gleaming with hatred as the ruins of the other trailed gruesome tears down his cheek.

Amy sank back into a ready stance, Kietsu in a guarded position along her arm.

"So…that would be a 'no'."

**8888888888**

Sesshoumaru stiffened as a familiar, and entirely unwelcome, scent entered the air. '_Damnit.' _he cursed internally. '_What is that idiot doing here?'_

"Sesshoumaru!" the annoying voice screamed out behind him.

"Inu Yasha." he replied calmly, keeping his irritation to himself. "Go away."

He barely suppressed an exasperated sigh as he heard the familiar sound of Tetsusaiga clearing its sheath.

"Keh! Who are you fighting, Sesshoumaru, and why does she smell like Naraku?"

His opponent tilted her head, the unexpected arrival shaking her out of her frozen state. "My, my, aren't you a curious puppy."

Sesshoumaru was tempted to snicker as he caught the outrage in his half-brother's scent.

"Inu Yasha…" Sesshoumaru's ears flicked as he heard his brother's companion speak up softly. "That woman has a Shikon shard in the hollow of her throat."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. '_A Shikon shard _and_ youkai armor? No wonder she moves so quickly, yet fights so poorly.'_

"Keh!" Inu Yasha exclaimed, waves of youki beginning to swirl around Tetsusaiga's blade. "Not for long!"

The woman narrowed her eyes, quickly grabbing a pouch from her belt. "It would seem that you all have me outnumbered. Another time, perhaps?"

"What?" his idiot brother exclaimed as the woman threw the pouch to the ground, a rising cloud of smoke obscuring her form.

Sesshoumaru grunted as the dust settled, revealing an empty spot where the woman had been. '_But who was she, what is she to Naraku, and why did she have a Shikon shard?' _he wondered.

Tensaiga suddenly pulsed at Sesshoumaru's hip, pulling him out of his musing. '_Tensaiga…why?_' A sharp scent invaded the air, slyly sneaking in amongst the smoke. Sesshoumaru inhaled deeply, sheathing Tokijin as he analyzed the wind. '_Burnt flesh, and fresh blood. But why…the half-breed!' _he realized quickly, cursing to himself. '_Idiot, I told her to leave the youkai that did this to me. What the hell was she thinking?'_

He leaped into a run, barely hearing his brother's outraged cry as Sesshoumaru left him behind.

"Hey! Sesshoumaru, you bastard, where the hell are you going!" Inu Yasha screamed.

**8888888888**

When Miroku and Sango came upon the two opponents, they weren't sure who to attack.

The auburn-haired female appeared to be holding her own against the one-eyed oni, even though her clothing was torn and she sported several burns upon her bared flesh.

Their first clue that she wasn't quite human came when a sparking glow enveloped the dagger clutched in her right hand.

Their second clue came when the oni tried to punch her in the face and she leapt seven feet straight up to avoid his fist, the glowing blade of her dagger lashing out at his remaining eye.

"Umm, Miroku?" Sango said, Hiraikotsu lying almost limply along her back.

"Yes, Sango?" the monk replied distractedly, wincing as the oni managed to slap the woman out of the air before her own blow landed.

"Why am I getting the feeling that we _really_ should have waited for Inu Yasha and Kagome?"

As the two pondered the situation in front of them, the oni shrieked as the woman viciously stomped on his foot.

"Oh for Pete's Sweet Sake, Fudomaru, you slaughtered an entire village and _now_ you can't even manage one little mutt?" a disgruntled voice cut into the monk and youkai slayer's silent contemplation, their heads jerking up as a woman appeared from a cloud of smoke at the edge of the clearing.

Amy's nose went nuts as Kietsu gave off a warning pulse in her hand. She leapt into the air, delivering a kick directly to the distracted oni's chin. As he toppled, exhausted, to the ground, she turned to coolly regard the latest intruder even as her pulse raced in fear.

"That would be a 'no'." she said calmly. "I'm surprised that you've finally shown yourself…Ingrid."

The intruder laughed, the sword at her side seemingly unsheathing itself. "Is that any way to address your dear old grandmother, young woman?" she said mockingly.

The hanyou growled, sinking into a Cat stance with her dagger once more in its guarding position, sharpened edge facing out, along her forearm. "Don't you _dare_ try to call yourself my 'dear old' anything, you fucking bitch."

The intruder sighed. "Well, you certainly didn't learn that sort of language from _my_ side of the family." She hefted the sword in her hand, resting its tip on her shoulder as she shook her head sadly. "You must have learned it from that half-brother of yours." She raised her face, an evil smile gracing her lips. "I can only hope that you didn't learn to fight from him, too."

The hanyou's growls sharpened as her eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare insult Aniki, not when you still wield his stolen sword!"

The intruder laughed, the shrill sound cutting the air like a thousand dulled knives.

"Oh? You mean this old thing?" Ingrid held Jiman out in front of her as though she were examining it for the first time, then gave a careless shrug. "Hmm…" she sighed, her eyes resting on her granddaughter's bristling form. "It has its uses…which is more than I can say for your late sibling!"

She leapt into a run, charging the hanyou, slashing at the ground where the hanyou stood. The hanyou barely managed to dodge her first slash by leaping into the air, the dagger in her hand blocking the broadsword on its upsweep as Amy flipped in midair to land behind Ingrid's back.

Stilled by shock, Sango and Miroku stayed glued to their front-row seats on Kirara's back.

"Umm…" Sango said. "Should we…"

Miroku shook his head, his eyes never leaving the fighting females. "No…I don't think we should."

A small cough sounded just behind them, Kirara whirling around to face the frightened-looking woman and child that had approached them from behind.

"Pardon us, sir monk, lady exterminator." The woman bowed deeply, the child half-hidden behind her. "Won't you please help the lady healer?"

"Lady healer?" the two echoed, Miroku gazing back at the fighting females as Sango looked in confusion at the bowing woman. '_The hanyou is holding her own,_' he thought grimly as the two's blades locked, '_but barely. She is clearly exhausted._'

"The young woman, Lady Amaya." The woman clarified, straightening from her bow. "She saved my husband's life, and when the oni came back, she distracted him long enough for my husband's parents to hide him."

A sharp cry lanced the air, and all turned back to see Ingrid grinning madly as Jiman's blade bit deeply into Amaya's shoulder.

"Teach you to respect your elders, young lady!" the woman sneered, cruelly pulling her sword out of her young opponent. Her head jerked sharply towards the group of humans as Sango and Miroku leapt off of Kirara, her eyes narrowing as the two began to run towards them.

"Fudomaru." she snapped coldly. The oni groaned, pulled out of unconsciousness by Ingrid's harsh voice. He stumbled to his feet, blearily regarding the woman in front of him with his remaining eye.

She snorted in disgust. "We have company. Make yourself useful, will you?"

The oni growled at her even as he turned to attack the approaching humans. Sango threw Haraikotsu with all her might, drawing her katana even as Fudomaru knocked the giant boomerang out of the air. Ofuda seemed to magically appear in the monk's hand only to fly towards Fudomaru the next moment.

Ingrid's attention was drawn back to the chuckling young woman at her feet. "What the hell are you laughing at?" she sneered.

"That." Amaya said calmly as a sword magically blossomed in the center of Ingrid's chest, only to be drawn back out as the woman gasped and dropped to her knees.

"We," Sesshoumaru said coldly, flicking Tokijin's blood-covered blade behind him, "were not finished."

"Shiiit." The woman gasped, looking behind her. One glance was enough. Her oni was covered in ofuda, and was one step away from death. She had one enemy behind her, another in front, and nowhere to run. She reached for another smoke pouch.

"Fudomaru!" she yelled out, throwing the pouch to the ground. "Do your best!"

"What?" the oni screamed, watching the woman disappear even as the taiyoukai and the wounded hanyou both jumped to tackle her.

As the smoke dispersed on the wind Sesshoumaru glanced down at the hanyou, whom he was now not only pinning to the ground, but who was also managing to slowly bleed all over him.

_And_, he noticed in irritation, she was making his heirloom sword go _nuts_.

"That," Amy said furiously, struggling to ignore the frantic pulses from Tensaiga and get out from underneath Sesshoumaru, "is the second time that bitch has stabbed me with my brother's sword, and ran."

"Then perhaps," Sesshoumaru said calmly, propping himself up, "you should try not letting her get away next time."

Amy growled, locking her eyes with Sesshoumaru's as she tried to ignore the fact that Tensaiga's energy pulses were making her chi practically purr in contentment. "I didn't see _you_ actually stopping her, oh high and mighty Lord Sesshoumaru!"

'_That might have been a mistake,_' a very small voice in Amy's head whispered as Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed red.

"If I were you," Sesshoumaru said very, very softly, through teeth that seemed much, much sharper, "I would think long and hard before making a comment like that to someone like me."

'_Where the hell does this guy get off, saying something like that!_' a not-so-small, not-so-smart voice whispered as Amy's growl deepened and her stare intensified.

"Umm, Lord Sesshoumaru? Princess Amaya? If it's not too much to ask, could you two stop embracing long enough to get out of the way?" Miroku yelled as the oni burnt all his ofuda to ash.

They both turned to glare at him. "We are **not** 'embracing'!" they both yelled.

Miroku shrugged, turning before they could see the sweat roll down his face. '_Really, for them to be in such a friendly position, how was I to assume otherwise?_'

Sesshoumaru started to lift himself off of Amaya, until part of what the monk had said clicked in his brain. "_Princess_ Amaya?" he inquired, one eyebrow raised.

Amy growled. "A technicality. I prefer 'Lady'."

Sesshoumaru shook his head, and with the barest of effort was on his feet.

Amy waited for a heartbeat before picking herself up off the ground, wincing as her injured muscles twinged in protest. '_Well, you weren't expecting him to offer to help you up, were you? Though it would have been the mannerly thing to do._' she thought, disgruntled, as she looked at Lord Sesshoumaru.

"I thought I told you to leave the intruder to me." He said quietly, watching the monk and exterminator play with the injured oni. He had wondered why the monk simply did not use his Kazaana, then realized at the monk's request that not only would they be in the void's path, the humans the hanyou had tended to were still hanging around. '_Fools. Hindering the ones who would aid them…_'

"Yes, well," Amy huffed, her eyes also on the ongoing fight, "you didn't say anything about what to do if he attacked me. And he did. Attack me, that is."

Sesshoumaru tilted his head towards her. "Is that so?"

Amy huffed again, crossing her arms, wincing as the skin around her shoulder wound pulled. "Of course, that's so! Besides," she sniffed as the exterminator scored a direct head-shot with her boomerang, "he has some of the worst manners I've ever seen. I'd've been tempted to beat him up just for that."

Sesshoumaru snorted.

"Hey, is it just me, or is he getting closer to those two females?" Amy said suddenly, raising a hand to block the sun from her eyes.

"Umm, maybe we should…" Amy didn't get to finish the sentence before the oni lunged and grabbed the small girl. "Shit!"

Sesshoumaru was startled to find himself suddenly alone, the hanyou a blur as she ran towards the oni. The little girl screamed as the oni began to squeeze, laughing at the humans who had frozen in horror.

"Stupid humans." Fudomaru sneered, tightening his grip until the child passed out. "You should have sucked me up when you had the chance, monk."

'_Sucked him up?_' Amy thought as she ran. '_What the hell?_'

"Hey!" she screamed at the oni. "Put her down, asshole!"

The oni laughed, quick and sharp. "Make me."

Amy smiled grimly, Kietsu already out and sparking with barely contained energy. She ran toward the oni, the pain from her wounds seeming to disappear as the adrenaline rush from Hell overtook her body.

"Fine!" she screamed, not slowing her rush until she was upon the oni, barely dodging the hand that came flying at her, leaping at his face…

And slashing down at his remaining eye, grinning madly as Kietsu sank to the bone. The oni roared, his hand opening and dropping the little girl even as Amy yanked Kietsu back out.

"Bitch!" the oni screamed, his hand slapping her out of midair even as she tugged her weapon from his flesh. Grabbing a hold of her shirt, he whipped her back and slammed her into the ground, grinning as her bones made audible noises beneath his palm.

Roaring, blinded and furious, Fudomaru failed to sense the danger stalking up behind him until Tokijin snaked out and separated his head from his neck.

"Yuck!" Amy yelled as Fudomaru's blood sprayed everywhere. "Not that I'm unhappy he's dead, mind you, but…yuck!"

Sesshoumaru grunted, flicking the blood from Tokijin's blade before re-sheathing it.

"Shit," Amy hissed, painfully drawing in a breath as she managed to wriggle free of the dead oni's grip, 'I think that last hit broke something." She winced as she raised a hand to her bruised ribs, carefully checking them over. '_Damn, those two are cracked. I'll be lucky if everything heals before sunset. Damn those two!_' she thought, pissed off.

She started to struggle to her feet, only to find herself scooped up by a very strong arm. '_Huh?_' she thought in confusion, before she realized that the fluffy white chest she was cuddled up to was Sesshoumaru's and that the soothing energy enveloping her was coming from Tensaiga.

"Your injuries were avoidable." the taiyoukai said grimly, his mouth turned down in a ferocious frown. "You should not have attacked him."

"And what did you expect me to do?" she retorted, uncomfortable with the possessive way he was holding her. "I couldn't just let him kill her!"

"Did you doubt that I would kill him before that happened?" Sesshoumaru growled, the anger in his voice making Amy want to curl in on herself.

"Erm, well…" she muttered, turning her face away from him. "I didn't think you'd want to involve yourself."

Sesshoumaru suddenly became acutely aware of the human audience they were entertaining. He huffed, pulling Amy closer and turning on his heel. "He intruded upon my lands." he said quietly. "For that, this Sesshoumaru would have taken his life."

Amy tactfully decided not to point out that not even a few hours ago, he'd been willing to ignore another youkai's presence in his domain so long as it was only attacking humans. '_Sheesh, how often does this guy change his mind, anyway?_' she thought, trying to suppress a yawn. She was suddenly so very, very tired…

"Umm, Lord Sesshoumaru?" the monk piped up.

Sesshoumaru paused, looking over his shoulder at his brother's companion. The monk straightened, planting his staff firmly in the ground. "It would seem that the princess's grandmother is working with Naraku. What is going on?"

'_Grandmother?_' Sesshoumaru thought in confusion, glancing down at the blushing hanyou he held. '_Who is he…oh._' A look of consternation briefly crossed his face before he resumed his calm expression. It all made sense now: the Shikon shard, the alliance with Naraku, even the hateful behavior between his opponent and the female currently occupying his arm.

Amy gulped, not missing the 'We _will_ talk about this later' look Sesshoumaru gave her before answering the monk.

"I suspect," he said calmly, "that you will discover that on your own."

"Ah," the monk said carefully, "there is also the matter of Kouga…"

"And the wolf would concern me…why?" Sesshoumaru said calmly, the look on his face clearly saying that he didn't consider Kouga to be of any importance.

"Ah, well, you see…" the monk tried quickly to find the right words, "he feels responsible for the princess's safety …"

Sesshoumaru hmphed, turning once more to stroll away from the humans. "The princess is traveling with this Sesshoumaru. That is all the wolf needs to know." His voice faded as white light enveloped both him and his cargo, obscuring them until only a luminescent ball of energy remained.

The monk sighed, his body relaxing as the youkai disappeared from view.

"Well," the exterminator said beside him, "that could have been a lot worse."

The monk nodded. "Yes, Sango, it could have."

**8888888888**

Amy winced, burying her face into Sesshoumaru's fluff as the wind seemed to grow teeth around them. "Damn…" she said softly, "I feel like shit."

Sesshoumaru's grip seemed to tighten on her, and she stole a glance up at his face. '_Wow, with his mouth all thinned out like that…he almost looks…worried?_' she thought in wonder.

"Sesshoumaru?" she said softly.

"Why didn't you tell me that your clan's enemy was your grandmother?" he said sharply.

Amy winced. "Eh…"

A low growl resonated from Sesshoumaru's throat. "I was embarrassed, okay?" she said sharply. "Happy now?"

"Embarrassed?" he said in surprise. "Why?"

Amy sighed, and snuggled deeper into the fluff. "If you had a grandmother who thought your mother was a whore, and that you were a monster, and then made it her mission after death to slaughter you and your entire family, wouldn't you be a little embarrassed?"

Amy closed her eyes, turning her head downwards. "Ingrid killed my parents when I was really little, you know. I don't really remember them, much …Keiji-aniki, my half-brother, ended up raising me. Hell, if it wasn't for Aniki that bitch would have killed me, too." she said, almost wistfully.

"What happened to him?" Sesshoumaru asked softly.

Amy's face grew still, and she refused to meet Sesshoumaru's eyes. "When our father was killed, Aniki inherited the Talisman of the Moon."

"And it was he who lost his life guarding it?" Sesshoumaru finished.

Amy nodded, grief flicking over her features.

Sesshoumaru's face grew still. Reluctant as he was to interfere, the hanyou would never be able to accomplish her mission were she to lose herself to her emotions.

"So are you just going to continuing feeling sorry for yourself, or are you going to do something about her?" he said sternly.

Amy's head jerked up, fury igniting her eyes. "I am _not_ feeling sorry for myself!"

Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow at her, his expression clearly conveying his disbelief at her statement.

Amy growled. "Of course I'm going to do something about her. I tracked her all the way here, remember?"

"And you failed to find her until she chose to reveal herself." Sesshoumaru pointed out. "By your own admittance, you are running out of time."

"I _know_ that!" she growled, and poked a finger into his chest. "You're not one to talk, you know. How long have you been chasing this Naraku guy without actually killing him, huh?"

'_You know, I really should learn to think before I speak…_' Amy thought as Sesshoumaru's eyes ignited. '_But on the other hand, it's really fun seeing him show an emotion other than boredom or disdain…_'

"That,' Sesshoumaru said icily, barely controlling his twitching claws, "is beside the point."

"Whatever." Amy said flippantly, resuming her snuggling position against his fluff. "I hope the kids are okay…when are we getting to your fortress, anyway? I thought you said that village was right by it!"

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "It is. And I'm sure the children are fine."

Amy yawned. "Probably. Derek can outrun just about anything when he sets his mind to it."

She twisted a bit in his grip, settling herself more comfortably along his arm. Her hand brushed his sleeve, a frown crossing her face as one of the tears caught in her own claws.

"Hey! You didn't mention that you were hurt!" she exclaimed

Sesshoumaru snorted. "Don't be foolish. This Sesshoumaru is not hurt. My sleeve was merely…a casualty."

"You're sure?" Her concerned eyes met his own, and for a moment, just a moment, Sesshoumaru was lost in the depths of her green orbs.

He quickly shook himself out of it. "You should worry about your own injuries, princess." he said gruffly. "I really must insist that you stop putting yourself in situations like that."

"Oh?" Her eyebrow shot up in amusement. "And why is that?"

"Because you are of no use to me if you are dead." he said stoically, mentally adding '_And Tensaiga has not stopped trying to heal her since I picked her up. There's no telling what it would do if she actually _died. _Huh, I wonder if she has even noticed that her wounds are now healing much faster than they did the last time I saw her hurt?_'

"You've got some nerve, you know that?" Amy growled.

Sesshoumaru regarded her coolly. "Yes?"

"Ooo…" she growled, barely suppressing another yawn despite her irritation.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "You should rest."

Amy nodded. "Probably should, but probably won't." she said sleepily. "Too much to do."

Sesshoumaru snorted. "Not in your current condition. You can barely move as it is."

Amy laughed, a sharp and bitter sound. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I won't do what I have to do. You'd have to lock me up to keep me from going after that bitch the next chance I get."

"Hmm, imprisonment. That would be one way to keep you out of trouble, I suppose." Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully.

Amy jerked upright, one hand flattening against his chest. "You're kidding, right? Not even you would be that much of a jerk!"

His eyebrow rose, but he refused to answer her.

"Sesshoumaru? You _are_ kidding, right? Right?" she said almost desperately.

"Sleep, hanyou." he said finally.

Amy settled down, grumbling. "You had better be joking, Sesshoumaru, or so help me…"

As she finally slipped into unconsciousness, Sesshoumaru allowed a very small, very satisfied smile to cross his face. She feared imprisonment, did she?

What a wonderful threat to keep her out of trouble…

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_**A/N: **Tee-hee, so I suppose you all can guess how the next chapter is going to open..._

_Make my day. Push the button._

_Reviewer Responses:_

_Catz: See, plenty of fighting. And it was all for you!_

_Khaos: I hope this was up to your expectations. I really do need more practice writing fights scenes…or a co-author, lol._

_Ephona: Thanks, hon. (gives Ephona a big hug)_

_Sparkle23: Glad to know there are some lurkers out there – I was starting to wonder. Thanks for taking the time to review - I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you!_

_KuramasDarkAngel: Glad you like, and here's your update – sorry it's kinda late, I'm really trying to keep my updates about three weeks apart._

_LSR-7: Always nice to see new names on my review list. I'm glad you're enjoying this – I know I'm having fun writing it! _Repost comment_: Yeah, fight scenes are hard to write if you don't have any hands-on experience. The only martial art I've studied is Shaolin kung fu, and even then the only forms I really worked with were Tiger and Leopard, and the only weapon I've used extensively is the bo (staff). So most of the fighting techniques I know are extremely hands on, nearly all defensive rather than offensive, and I think that reflects quite a bit when I do have to write a fight scene or five._

_Nefertiri: Thanks, hon. I know you've been wondering why it is that Ingrid was able to kill not only her daughter, her daughter's mate (a nearly full-blooded youkai), her daughter's stepson, AND hold her own in a fight with Sesshoumaru. I've really been debating how much is safe to say without spoiling the story. With Amy's parents, Ingrid uses deceit in order to lure them to their deaths. With Keiji and Sesshoumaru…if I told you, it would ruin a twist I have in mind. Sorry!_

_Sanood: Lol, glad to know you like. Hope this was worth the wait. As you can see, the Inu-tachi did show up. Though, to be honest, I think they're going to end up being more "comic relief" in this story than anything else…I'm having quite a bit of fun concentrating on Amy and Sesshoumaru. And Rin! Who could not love writing about that cute widdle girl?_


	8. Interlude

**_Disclaimer: No, Sesshoumaru isn't mine. Amy and her thoughts on him, however, are.  
_**

**A/N: _This is, like the prologue, a glimpse into the future. I decided to italicize the text of both this and the prologue so that it would be easier to differentiate between the "now now" and the "past now" – "past now" being where the bulk of the story takes place. _**

_**The next "real" chapter should be up in about a week. Expect some fluff - it's my forte, lol.  
**_

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**Interlude**

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_The captive leaned against the stone wall, listening to the whispers of the changing guards._

_It had been nearly two days since she had found herself in this enchanted prison, and the full moon was growing ever closer. A shiver ran down her spine, dread pooling in her stomach as she realized that, even now, she could be too late to save those she loved…_

"This…was not part of the plan." _she murmured softly, knowing that even if her guards' keen hearing picked up the words they wouldn't understand them._

_She chuckled as she remembered Sesshoumaru's threats of imprisonment. At the time, with the reprimanding tone of his voice ringing in her ears and the buried anger coating his scent, she'd fully believed him to be capable of locking her away for the slightest of reasons. _

_Daiyoukai, after all, did not become such by making idle threats._

_She began to methodically stretch her muscles, reflecting on her recent thoughts of the great dog. At first, she'd found him arrogant, icy, his tongue as acidic as his claws. She hadn't been sure which annoyed her more – his aloof manner, or the scorn with which he seemed to regard anything that was weaker than him. _

_And then…the more time she spent with him, the more she began to see the little cracks in the glacier that surrounded his heart._

_The way he treated the little human had been her first clue that he wasn't as indifferent as he seemed to everything around him. The way he had insisted on carrying her, that night when her human legs could walk no more, was her second, even as his anger at her endangering herself for a stranger was her third._

_She closed her eyes, and recalled the next few days spent in his company, in his stronghold, making their plan of attack. With what was revealed to her in those few days…_

_Oh yes, he was arrogant. And yes, he was strong, and proud, and justifiably so. _

_But cold? Indifferent? Dispassionate?_

_After what she had seen…she could never again apply those words to Sesshoumaru._

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**A/N: **_Short, but hopefully illuminating. So, no, Sesshoumaru isn't Amy's jailor. _

_That would have been too simple. Tee-hee._


	9. Where the Heart Is

_**Disclaimer**: Hahaha, all mine! The Flying Squirrels did it!_

((wakes up from her pleasant dreams.))_ Well, damn._

_Seriously, anything straight from _**Inu Yasha**_ belongs to Takahashi-san, not me. Sorry this has taken a few months to get out – life has thrown me quite a few curveballs since April, and among them was losing my Internet connection for over a month, which royally sucked lemons, and not the good kind of lemons, either. _

_Obviously, I did spend some of my time in exile writing. Enjoy!_

_Oh – and before I forget, there's a little bit of lime-age. Nothing that anyone 13 and over should worry about reading…I think. But then, I was reading Clive Barker at age 13, so I'm probably not the best judge. ((shrugs))_

**_Repost Note_**: _Before I post a new chapter, I try to read through the rest of the story to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything, or accidentally used something twice. Well, in my re-reading, I missed the part in "Pride and Joy" where Ingrid wounded Amy's shoulder with Jiman – pretty much the only kind of wound that Amy is normally forced to heal human-slow. _

_So, I fixed it. Hopefully, this chapter is the better for it._

_Chapter 8 is about 500 words away from completion, so expect it up by this Friday (August 5)._

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**Where the Heart Is**

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Had an observer been watching for them, she would have seen only a white ball of light rapidly approaching the foothills of the closest mountain.

If that observer had continued to watch, she would have seen the white ball rapidly dissolve as it reached its destination, revealing a tall, silver-haired man with an unconscious but lovely young woman held close to his chest.

An observer may have been intrigued at the obvious signs of battle that coated the two. The silver-haired man's white clothing rippled in the wind, showing tears in both hakama and haori, most noticeably in the sleeve that hung limply from his left shoulder. The young woman's skin was covered with dirt and rapidly darkening bruises that peaked out from beneath the shreds of the dark shirt that fluttered gently around her burned and bleeding abdomen. Hardly enough of the cloth remained to preserve the lady's dignity.

Had that observer been listening, she would have heard the tall man murmur a few soft words, indistinguishable upon the wind, as the air in front of the pair seemed to thicken and shimmer.

That observer would have then seen the tall men step unhesitatingly through the portal with his burden, leaving not a trace of their passage behind.

With disgust evident in every movement, that unseen observer plucked a feather from her hair, and ascended to the heavens in a whirling tornado.

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Sesshoumaru scented the air, noting with satisfaction that they were the last of their group to arrive…and that Kagura's scent no longer lingered beyond the portal.

The sleeping wolf shifted in his embrace, one golden eye catching the fleeting look of discomfort that crossed her face as she moved. Already, her bruises were at their peak. Soon they would begin to heal and fade, leaving not a single mark upon her. The skin of her throat had blistered and healed where the fire oni had held her, a remaining hint of red the only sign that the delicate flesh had been assaulted. The charred flesh of her abdomen was also healing well. The damaged skin and tissue was flaking away, revealing new, shiny and soft pink skin beneath what had been severe burns.

Were he able to see beneath her surface injuries, Sesshoumaru was certain that he would see her very bones rapidly knitting back together, as well.

Her shoulder, on the other hand…Amaya's shirt gaped open over the irritated wound, and Sesshoumaru hissed at the sight of the red and swollen flesh.

Of all the wounds decorating her body, it was the only one that was not healing.

He strode quickly towards the front gates of his home, his feet seeming to glide over the well-kept grounds. There were no trees outside his home's walls; no cover for an enemy's approach and no flowers to hide an attacker's scent.

A wide moat stood between him and his destination. With no visible effort, Sesshoumaru gathered himself and leapt across the water, feet touching down delicately on the far side just long enough for his legs to bend, the muscles of his calves and thighs absorbing the shock of the landing even as he pushed against the ground, springing back into the air.

His youki flexed and stretched around him, the cloud-like mass supporting his weight as he cast a critical eye over his home.

'_The battlements are in need of repair._' he mused silently, his arm tightening around the female as she began to shift in her sleep. A soft whine, almost a hiss, emerged from between her lips as his grip aggravated her ribs, and Sesshoumaru caught himself rubbing his chin against her forehead, absentmindedly seeking to calm her even as his mind focused on assessing the soundness of his home.

He glared at Tenseiga, the sword mocking him with its silent thrumming. The wolf sighed and shifted, her forehead gently butting against his face as her nose settled in the crook of his shoulder. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as her breath stirred the small hairs of his neck, a shiver running down his spine as the woman's entire body seemed to curl against him. His eyes opened the barest of slits, continuing to glare down at his traitorous katana even as his nose buried itself in her hair, the faint musk of her scent soothing his nerves.

He floated over the outer wall of his castle, noting with satisfaction the emptiness of the courtyard. More likely than not, the few retainers he had allowed to remain in residence were either busy preparing for his arrival, or keeping Rin out of trouble.

He changed the angle of his flight, ascending towards the highest tower of the castle. Windows the size of small doors seemed to open at his approach, and Sesshoumaru effortlessly landed on the floor's edge, his youki swirling and contracting around him as he walked quickly across his bedroom floor.

His futon was already prepared for him, the sleeping mats piled three deep and covered with fresh linens. Sesshoumaru snorted softly at the display of creature comforts, knowing that he wouldn't be indulging in them anytime soon.

His attention turned to the fusama before him, the interior shoji sliding open silently as he approached. He sighed as he caught sight of the low-slung desk covered with neat stacks of correspondence, a much smaller stack of unused paper and fresh writing utensils seeming to mock him by their very presence. Honestly, as much as he left the formalities of the courts alone, he almost expected the letters to have written themselves by now.

"My lord?" a voice whispered from the dark corner beside him, and Sesshoumaru stilled, regarding the transparent, kneeling figure from the corner of his eye.

"Anei. Where is Kumori?" The figure seemed to bow even lower, as though trying to hide itself from even the hint of Sesshoumaru's gaze.

"Kumori is readying the guest chambers, my lord. Your human insisted that the wolves should be made…comfortable."

Sesshoumaru tilted his head in assent, resuming his way past the now silent servant. To be honest, he was surprised that Anei and Kumori had roused themselves from their slumber in the middle of the day. The two retainers, much like the shadows which they resembled, were ill-protected from sunlight and preferred to roam the fortress only under the cover of night.

"My lord…" Anei said hesitantly, Sesshoumaru's steps slowing. "I'm afraid the lady's bed is not yet prepared."

The lord's eyebrow rose in irritation, a scowl flitting across his face. As much as he would have liked to just drop the injured wolf on the floor, such uncouth behavior was beneath him. Without a word, he returned to his own bed, and gently set the hanyou down upon it.

At least, he tried to. The fingers of her left hand, which had been lying innocently along his shoulder, suddenly wrapped themselves in his hair as he began lowering her. Her eyebrows furrowed, the expression on her face obviously troubled as Sesshoumaru quickly tried to figure out how to get her off of his person without waking her up.

He dropped to his knees upon the bed, gently lying down on his left side, the woman…no, the _princess_, still curled up to his chest as he slowly pulled his arm away from her Bringing his now free hand up, he gently pried her fingers open, wincing as a few of his hairs remained tangled in her claws.

She shivered in her sleep, curling in on herself as Sesshoumaru put space between their two bodies. '_She looks so young._' Sesshoumaru mused silently, his hand seeming to reach of its own volition to tuck a strand of her auburn hair behind one gently pointed ear, his fingers lingering as he gazed at her.

'_Young, inexperienced and she has not yet learned to control her passionate nature on the battlefield…but she shows promise.' _he mused. '_If she survives a few more centuries, she may yet make a decent warrior.'_

She turned her face slightly, and before he could pull his hand away the hanyou nuzzled it, dropping her head back to the futon with a contented murmur. Bemused, Sesshoumaru sat up, his eyes roving the sleeping female's form as his hand caressed her cheek before pulling reluctantly away.

'_That is, if a treaty between the clans does not condemn her to merely becoming the adornment of some male's bed. A princess, hmm? But why would she have sought to hide her birth rank from me?' _His eyes narrowed as he rolled back on his heels.

And he finally noticed that her muddy boots were fouling the foot of his bed. With a scowl, he reached down and untied them, tugging them off her feet and setting them on the floor.

She shivered as the cool air hit her feet through her socks, and tried to pull her legs up to her chest, whimpering in her sleep as her damaged abdomen muscles contracted around her fractured ribs. The scowl on Sesshoumaru's face deepened, his hand reaching down and pulling a coverlet over the injured female. A feeling of relief, though very slight, washed over him as her body relaxed and her facial muscles smoothed.

'_Why is it that her pain bothers me?_' he thought suddenly. '_Tenseiga, can this be your influence? Why is the well-being of this female so important to you?_'

For once the sword remained silent at his side, obstinately refusing to answer any of his questions. With a soft "Hmph," Sesshoumaru pulled the willful katana, sheath and all, from his obi, and laid it beside the recuperating female.

"If you are so worried for her, Tenseiga," he said softly, "watch over her yourself."

As he turned to leave the room, Sesshoumaru could almost hear the sword laughing at him.

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"Come _on_, Derek!" Rin yelled, looking back at the wolf as he sniffed his way along the ground.

He looked up at her and seemed to grin before planting his nose right back along the trail.

Rin growled and stamped her foot. "If you don't knock it off, we're never going to make it to the pasture and back before someone comes to find us!" she warned.

A soft grunt was her only reply, the young wolf far too absorbed in the new scents around him to pay much attention to her words. Rolling her eyes, Rin stalked over to him, firmly planting her feet in the patch of grass his nose was investigating.

"Alright, you asked for it!" she yelled, throwing herself on top of him.

The surprised wolf went down with a loud "Oof!" as Rin's weight forced the air from his lungs, his body beginning to shake with suppressed laughter as the little girl began to viciously attack his most ticklish spots.

The little girl giggled as the wolf thrashed beneath her, confident that no matter how violently he seemed to move he would never actually hurt her. Slowly she began to take pity on him, and her hands moved from tickling his ribs to softly scratching behind his ears.

"You know," she said softly, leaning on his shoulder as her hand continued its idle movements, "I never knew wolves could be nice before I met you, Derek."

The wolf growled, the soft sound almost a purr, as he stretched underneath the child.

Rin giggled, jumping up and skipping ahead of the wolf. "Come on, Derek!" she called back. "Let's go see Ah-Un!"

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"You've disappointed me, my dear."

His melodic voice, dark as rich chocolate, sent shivers down her spine. Though she did not meet the piercing gaze of his fathomless eyes, Ingrid could feel the heat of his stare searing her kneeling form.

"And how," she murmured demurely, "have I managed to do that?"

She didn't bother to hide her shudder as Naraku began to run his fingers through her hair, his nails scratching her skull lightly before the fingers withdrew, allowing her streaked hair to slowly fall back into place before the nails returned to her scalp.

It was soothing and sensual, and yet Naraku was probably the only male alive who could make such an intimate gesture feel like a death threat.

"I have given you this body, have I not?" he said softly. "You, who were a tormented soul without form or physical connection to this earth, have a body now solely because I have chosen to give it to you."

His nails ran across the top of her head, the sharp points lightly scraping the delicate skin behind her left ear as they traveled down her neck. Even without the slight bump underneath his fingertips, Naraku knew where Ingrid's most accessible weakness lay.

"I _made_ this body, Ingrid." His voice was feather soft, the light touch of his rough fingertips causing an involuntary shiver to run through the woman's body.

His thumb brushed against the hollow of her neck, and her eyes snapped shut against the flood of stimulation that simple movement caused. Leaning that barest of inches forward, Naraku's mouth hovered by her right ear, his words intended for her hearing alone.

"It is flesh taken of my flesh," he whispered, "blood taken of my blood. Your soul gave it its final form, true enough. However," his finger brushed against the scar that concealed her Shikon shard, Ingrid's answering hiss bringing a wicked smile to his face, "without this last gift from me, your soul would flee from this shell and it would become a lovely lump of _nothing_."

His hand slid backwards, the fingers entwining themselves in the hair at the base of the woman's skull and gripping tight.

"In life, your only assets were your looks and your cunning," he growled in her ear, "very fitting for the bastard child of a geisha and a gaijin."

Ingrid's eyes snapped open, glowing with fury. Naraku laughed, his hot breath assailing her delicate skin as he leaned back to regard her, his nose nearly touching hers. "Are you offended, my dear? I must say, you were quite admirable in your attempts to restore your family's honor. Even going so far as to capture an influential gaijin of your own…heh, though it would be fairer to say that he cornered you, would it not?"

A strangled sound, not quite a growl, erupted from Ingrid's throat.

"Am I upsetting you, my dear?" Naraku asked mockingly, his hand still holding her head immobile. "It is only fair, considering how much you have upset _me._

"I gave you gifts far beyond what you had in your last life." he hissed. "I gave you speed to match the wolves you prey on, more strength than the most disciplined of human warriors, imbued you with some of my own regenerative power, made you armor of _my own flesh_ and yet, how have you used these gifts?"

He shook her once, just roughly enough to make sure he had her full attention. "You disobeyed my orders, led my minion to his death, and did you manage to kill anyone important? No! You razed an insignificant village and aroused the anger of an enemy _before_ the time was right!" he growled.

Anger sparked in his eyes, and Ingrid knew that his patience with her rebelliousness was growing dangerously thin. She forced herself to become as limp as a ragdoll in his grasp, forced her eyes to lower in deference to his. "Forgive me, my lord. For failing you." she whispered submissively.

Naraku smirked, pulling Ingrid towards him until their noses touched and their breath mingled. "That would not be an attempt to humor me, would it my dear?"

The most demure look he had ever seen came over the woman's face. "That depends…" she whispered.

"Depends?" he murmured, his eyes watching her down turned ones. "Depends upon what?"

The slightest of smiles tugged at the corner of her mouth. "On whether or not it worked, my lord."

The narrowing of his eyes were her only warning before she found herself thrown clear across the room, her back and head slamming into one of the few stone walls in the fortress.

She looked sullenly at the floor, not bothering to wipe the drops of blood that fell from her injured nose. "That…" she hissed softly, pulling herself back into a kneeling position, "would be a 'no'."

"You asked for my help in restoring your family's honor, Ingrid." Naraku said coldly. "In return, you promised to aid me in conquering the world. Do not assume for one moment that that promise will keep me from disposing of you if you grow to be too much of a nuisance."

Ingrid resisted the urge to curl in on herself until Naraku swept out of the room. Fast healing be damned, her back _hurt_.

His anger would fade soon enough, of that she was sure. Naraku was nothing if not a bully. He would never succeed without her knowledge, and he would have to be a complete idiot to think that she'd willingly surrendered all of it.

Ingrid could be accused of being many things, but 'suicidal' was not one of them.

She licked the blood from her lips. Damnit, she'd tried so _hard_ to keep her honor untarnished. She'd grown up with the jeers and taunts of everyone around her, a constant reminder that if she hadn't inherited some of her foreign father's features, she would have had no clue what her paternal heritage was.

A snarl curled her lip. Even then, the asshole had wanted nothing to do with his bastard daughter, not when he had a wife and legitimate children back in Prussia. He'd lingered in her life long enough to give her a name, and then sailed out of it forever.

And then…Tom had happened to her. The snarl on her lips softened. Gentle Tom, who married her and promised to take her away from the homeland she held no love for.

Sweet Tom, who had dropped dead mere days after their daughter's birth, before he could fulfill his promise to her. She'd done her best to raise their daughter well, to teach her the meaning of honor. Done her best to give her the tools needed to escape their life.

Then that thrice-damned fleabag of a wolf youkai stole her daughter away, knocked her up and forced her to stay with him out of shame. Oh, Nozomi said that she loved him, but Ingrid didn't believe it for a second.

What true human could love a monster?

There had been only one way she could free her daughter, and Ingrid hadn't hesitated to use it. At first, she had used her meager savings to send an assassin after the wolf. After he failed and was slaughtered, she realized that she would have to use the only true weapon left to a powerless woman – deceit. Pretending to accept her daughter's forced union, Ingrid had invited the newlyweds to her home. It had broken her heart to see her lovely daughter's belly distended with that creature's spawn.

She had smiled as the wolf succumbed to the tasteless, scentless poison in his food, her heart feeling the merest of pangs as her daughter gasped her last.

And then that wretch, Keiji, had broken into her home and killed her.

The last thing her dimming eyesight had seen was Keiji clawing her daughter's madly wriggling belly open, pulling the premature monster out into the world to take its first squalling breaths, the brat's screams echoed by the sounds of the storm that raged outside her small home's walls. The last thing she felt was the horror that she hadn't ended her line, hadn't ended her family's shame.

Her last thoughts had been of revenge, even as her soul descended into the hell reserved for those who were without mourners and without honor.

And that hell was where Naraku found her. It was from there that he had retrieved her lost soul and returned her to this…existence.

Ingrid laughed lowly. '_Existence. Such a fitting term for a life that is not being lived.'_ she mused. Yet, if serving Naraku would keep her from returning to that place of darkness, so be it.

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Amy awoke slowly, stretching out until she could feel bare wood underneath her toes. Repressing a hiss as her abused flesh protested her movements, her hand sought out her wounded shoulder. '_Where are my boots?' _she thought blearily as she sat up. _'For that matter, where am I?'_

She hadn't seen a room this opulent since…well, never.

The walls were painted a backdrop of the darkest indigo, a scene of deepest winter emblazoned around the room itself. At one end of the room was a window thrown wide open, the sky ablaze with shades of vivid red and fiery orange.

'_Damn, it's sunset already?'_ she cursed. '_Why the hell did Sesshoumaru let me sleep so long?'_

Her eyes were drawn to the other end of the room, where a dim light showed through a thin fusama screen. She started to throw the covers off of her, stopping as a heavy weight by her knees held the blankets down.

Reaching down, she was startled to discover the culprit was the Tenseiga, sheath and all. _'Why would Sesshoumaru have left this behind?_' she wondered, pulling the katana closer to her, then determinedly rose from the futon.

She grimaced at the sight of her torn clothing, still smattered with dried blood. Gingerly parting the slice over her shoulder wound, she was surprised to see that while the flesh was still tender, it was knitting together much, much faster than the last wound she'd received from Jiman had.

'_Damn, I need a bath and a change of clothes, pronto.'_ Her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding her of all the energy her body had burned in order to heal her, and she added '_and food'_ to her mental list of things to do.

But first things first…she had to find everyone.

She breathed in deeply, startled to discover Sesshoumaru's scent permeating the air around her. '_Damn, it's in _everything._ The futon, the covers, the screens…hell, it's even in the _walls_. Okay, so this _is_ his castle, but his scent wouldn't have penetrated this deep unless…' _ She gazed at her surroundings with a new understanding and appreciation. '_Unless these chambers are his. Holy crap, he put me to sleep in his own bed?'_ she thought in shock.

She caught sight of her muddy boots at the end of the futon, and blushed when she thought about who had probably taken them off of her. She grimaced as she looked at the sheets, realizing that her blood was probably clinging to the cloth, not to mention that pieces of her damaged skin had probably been left behind. '_Eww…I hope he has spare sheets…I'm sure the last thing Sesshoumaru wants to be sleeping in tonight is bits of me…'_

Amy rose stiffly from the bed, wincing as her ribs protested the sudden movement and deeper breaths she forced them to accommodate. She walked slowly past the fusama, Tenseiga tight in her grip. A low table lay to her right, upon it a couple neat stacks of paper, a writing set and a short candle that was threatening to sputter out. '_Nice of him to leave a light on for me, even if my eyes don't really need it_.'

She resisted the urge to flip through the papers on the low-slung desk, but couldn't help but notice that some had been there so long they were starting to crumble. '_Call me crazy,' _she thought bemusedly, '_but I really can't picture Sesshoumaru sitting down long enough to do paperwork.'_

She blew the candle out, and followed her nose out into the hall.

'_Wow, this place must be carved right out of the mountain.' _ Dressed stone surrounded her on every side. Even the floor beneath her feet was smooth, polished rock. '_This must have taken centuries to create…'_

She turned left, the increasing presence of Sesshoumaru's jyaki reassuring her of where she was heading.

She headed deeper into the mountain, the lack of light making even her eyes strain as she wished she would have had the good sense to bring the candle with her. After perhaps twenty minutes of walking, after the texture of the stone of the walls shifted from a smooth polish to a skin-catching roughness, Amy finally saw a pool of light that spilled from an open doorway into the roughly hewn hallway.

She quietly looked in, the sight stealing her breath.

Sesshoumaru sat kneeling, clad only in a dark pair of hakama, surrounded by a sea of candles in a rough little room that had been wrested, kicking and screaming, from the mountain. Incense smoke curled from a single brazier, making the air around the kneeling daiyoukai hazy and indistinct.

But what wrenched Amy's eye from the mouth-watering sight of a shirtless Sesshoumaru was the painting that rested on the far wall. In it, a large white dog youkai gazed down from the clouds at a boiling sea of human soldiers.

"If you're going to stand there, you might as well come in."

Amy started at the soft words, and hesitantly stepped into the room.

"I didn't mean to disturb you." she apologized.

"You are not disturbing me, Princess." Sesshoumaru sighed and opened his eyes. He bowed to the painting before standing and beginning to extinguish the candles.

"Who is that?" the hanyou whispered, awe lacing her voice. "And don't call me 'princess'." she added absentmindedly.

His lips lifted in a sad, yet proud, smile. "That was my father…Touga, Leader of the Dogs and former Lord of the West."

"Wow. He must have been ancient." she whispered. "I mean, if the painting is accurate?"

Sesshoumaru nodded slowly, his hand hovering over a candle. "My father had lived for nearly ten millennia when he met his end."

A low whistle escaped Amy's lips. "He must have been very skilled at the art of war, to have survived for so long."

"He was the greatest warrior I have ever known." Sesshoumaru said in a low voice, looking on the painting anew, his hand still hovering over the candle's weak flame.

For centuries now he had gazed upon this final portrait, dredging up from memory all the details the artist had not been able to catch. Such as the silver that had edged the dark grey of his father's fur…the blinding whiteness of his fangs…the wicked glint that had alighted in his father's eyes whenever something amused him…

Sesshoumaru shook himself, and caught Amy giving him an odd look. "Yes?" he said carefully.

"Did you inherit all of this from him?" she said, curiosity getting the better of her.

Sesshoumaru returned his gaze to the painting. "This mountain has been in my family since the gods first raised Japan from the sea. I was told that in my grandfather's time, this was merely a den dug into the mountainside. By the time I was born, my father had created a series of tunnels within the mountain itself and had already begun work on the outer castle." He caught a glint out of the corner of his eye, and realized that it was the metal cap of Tenseiga's hilt catching the dim candlelight. '_So, she kept you with her, did she?_' he thought in amusement.

"What about the land itself?" she inquired. "The people?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "My father fought to gain dominance over the youkai of this land, and was their leader for more than half of his life. When he passed away, his commanders broke his territory into pieces." he said bitterly. "Barely five decades passed before the high court begged me to take my father's place and end the threat that was tearing the lands apart."

"What happened?" Amy asked gently, unconsciously tightening her grip on Tenseiga. "What was the threat?"

"Themselves." he said quietly. "Without a leader to negotiate between them, the commanders were at each other's throats."

"So you took your father's post…I don't imagine they just submitted quietly?" A snort answered her wry question, and she shook her head. "So what did you do?"

"I fought them all." he said simply. "Those that survived acknowledged my right to lead, and those that did not…" He paused, his shoulders shrugging gracefully. "Their heirs saw reason."

"Wow…" Amy said softly, "is that why you patrol so often?"

He gave a slow nod. "It would not do for them to forget who needs whom, after all."

"No kidding." she murmured, blushing as his gold eyes caught and held her green ones. Turning her gaze downward, she held Tenseiga respectfully out to him, cradling it with both of her hands. "I'm a little old for teddy bears, you know." she said wryly, but softly.

Sesshoumaru gazed upon her demurely downturned face, amused by how quickly she had avoided direct eye contact with him. He hadn't forgotten her denial of attraction to him the day before, or his determination to make her admit the truth. '_No time like the present._' he thought, amusement coloring his thoughts.

"What is a 'teddy bear'?" he asked.

His amusement grew as her scent showed a hint of discomfort. "A comforting children's toy, that toddlers often sleep with when it isn't practical for them to share a bed with a parent or an older sibling."

Sesshoumaru took a step closer to her, forcing her to pull her arms in closer to her chest. "Mmm, if you are too old for 'teddy bears', as you say, what do you sleep with when you need comforting?" he said teasingly, his amusement growing along with her rising discomfort.

Amy ground her teeth against the thrill of desire and the accompanying discomfort his closeness was making her feel. Of all the times for him to act like something other than an iceman, why _now_, when the only things she was interested in were food and a bath? _'I guess this is what Aniki meant when he said that you should see a lion in its own den before you judge its character.' _she thought wryly.

But who was the true Sesshoumaru? The Snowball that she'd come to know in public, or the warmer individual she'd glimpsed peaking out from underneath?

"I assure you, _Lord_ Sesshoumaru," she said stiffly, "I need _nothing_ in my bed at night to comfort me."

Amy's breath caught as a talon hooked under her chin, gently urging her to lift her face to his. Laughter danced in those once cold eyes, and Amy froze as he took another step forward, his bare chest pressing her arms and the Tenseiga into her clothed one as he looked down at her.

"Nothing at night?" he rumbled, his breath making the short hairs around her face dance as his face lowered to hers. Her breath hitched as his eyes drew level with hers, their mouths hovering so close together that if she licked her own lips she would wet his.

The desire in her scent called to him as much as the uncertainty in her eyes, urging him to act much more brashly than he had first intended when he had begun to tease her. His instinct cried out for him to claim her lips, to claim _her_, the strong, willful female whose scent and power cried to his own.

"But what comforts you during the day…Princess?" he said softly, his eyes bleeding red as she shivered and the pure _want_ in her scent screamed at him. His lips crashed down on hers, his body forcing hers flush against the wall as he fought not to grind his hips, his aroused manhood, against the soft flesh of her pelvis.

'_Oh God.'_ she thought, feeling a flash of fear as he pinned her, his katana pressed so tight into her chest that it _hurt_. Desire rode her body at his touch, banishing the fear as she kissed him back, nipping at his lips as he slowly ground the evidence of his own desire against her. A low moan escaped her lips, and his hand left her chin to trail claws down her side, settling on her hip to pull her just far enough away from the wall to allow his hand to slip behind her. His tongue ran across her lips, demanding entrance to her mouth that she hesitantly allowed when his fingers pinched her backside in insistence.

His fingers massaged the abused muscle as she complied, feeling the shivers that ran up and down her spine as she relaxed into him. His tongue plundered her mouth, massaging her own as her second moan reverberated against his throat. He pulled back with a low growl, his teeth nipping her lips and then along her jawbone as she shuddered against him. On some level he was aware that he had her pinned, that she couldn't reciprocate even if she wanted to, but the same instinct that had urged him on was pleased by the desire he could smell on her, the moans that his actions drew from her clenched lips, and demanded that he draw more from her. Warmth began to blossom in him wherever his skin touched hers, and he growled as his mouth brushed against the tender flesh of her throat.

A soft blue glow enveloped them as his nose found the rip in her shoulder, his tongue snaking out to lick slowly along her wound. His eyes closed in satisfaction, the taste of her skin and blood like ambrosia to him.

"Sessh…shou…maru…" Amy moaned, panting as she tried to fight her raging hormones. _Never_ in her life had she been assaulted like this, and when his tongue began to lave her wound she thought she would go insane from desire. "Sssstttop!" she hissed out, trying desperately to hold on to the last shreds of her control.

He paused to look up at her, amusement dancing with the lust in his eyes. "Are you still insisting that you are not attracted to this Sesshoumaru…princess?"

A growl and a fresh wave of want-laden scent were his only warning before she shoved Tenseiga into him with all of her might, forcing him to slide a few feet away from her.

All of his weight leaned on the sheathed blade against his chest. Part of him wanted to close the distance between them once more, even as another part that was laughing at the princess's embarrassment allowed her to claim some personal space. Her arms were stretched out to their limits, and he allowed his own to hang limply at his side, though the length of his reach was enough that he could touch her anywhere, anytime he wished.

"Well," he said dryly, "now that you have this Sesshoumaru at such a distinct disadvantage, whatever are you planning to do to him?"

Her jaw dropped, and she sputtered in indignation. A chuckle rumbled in his chest, and he lowered his mouth to nibble at the fingers of her right hand. A smile threatened to spill onto his face as the shock, indignation and desire in her scent all but doubled, and he rolled his eyes back up to look at her.

"Well?" he mumbled around her finger, his tongue snaking out to caress the knuckle that had whitened as her grip tightened on the glowing Tenseiga.

"You…you!" she sputtered.

"Yes?" he said innocently, curling his tongue around her finger in such a way that he could practically _feel_ muscles in her groin clench in response.

'_I'm going to kill him,_' she thought faintly, trying not to slide down the wall in a boneless heap. '_As soon as he stops doing that…I'm going to _kill_ him!_'

"There's really no point in denying it." he stated matter-of-factly, his tongue moving on to lave the smallest of her digits. "I can _smell_ as well as you can, and I'll be more than happy to stop this assault of your person once you admit that even you find this Sesshoumaru attractive."

"What!" she snapped. "When you put it like that, of course I'm not going to say that I'm attracted to you!"

"Ah," he breathed out, his teeth briefly nipping at the flesh of her upturned wrist. "so you do not wish this Sesshoumaru's assault to cease. This is quite understandable."

"Sesshoumaru!" she gasped in indignation, shivers radiating from the sensitive pulse-point of her wrist to the rest of her body, her knees threatening to revolt any second. She started to pull the katana back towards her, and stopped in dismay as that only threatened to allow his bare, well-muscled chest to crash into her again.

Only his arm appearing beside her head kept his body from falling into hers as she removed his support, and he smirked triumphantly down at her as she glared up at him.

'_Lion in his own den, indeed._' she thought faintly, those red-tinged orbs threatening to steal every coherent thought straight out of her skull. '_Who knew that Sesshoumaru had such a playful side locked away?_'

"Do you yield, princess?" he said smugly, his lips twitching in what might, eventually, turn into a smile, as he allowed a hint of laughter into his voice.

"Yield what?" she said scathingly, and Sesshoumaru was certain that if she could have pinned her ears back she would have. "I'm not admitting that I'm attracted to you, Sesshoumaru, so forget it."

"Ah," he breathed out, lowering his face so that his mouth hovered over her ear. "I can see it will take an extended campaign before you are ready to admit the truth, fair princess. How…delightful."

His tongue snaked out to pull her earlobe into his mouth, and she shivered against him. The warmth he felt as his skin touched hers intensified, and Sesshoumaru grunted as the stump of his left arm began to burn and itch.

Reluctantly, he let go of the princess's ear to look at his arm…and it finally registered in his lust-addled mind that the Tenseiga was glowing like a blue sun. He blinked at the sheath, then blinked at his arm before cursing and stumbling away from the female.

Where his arm had ended a mere five inches below his shoulder, it now ended just above where his elbow joint should have been. Even as he watched he could see the growth slowing down, and it suddenly clicked.

Why her aura called to Tenseiga, why the merest use of her healing power activated the sword's own. Why her scent had intensified when she held the sword out to him. Why he desired to see to her well-being, why he so strongly wanted to hear the wolf admit her attraction to him. Hell, even his desire _for_ her now made sense.

"Sesshoumaru?" the wolf said quietly, and he looked up to see that she had slid down the wall to sit in an undignified heap on the ground, one hand covering the wound on her shoulder, her hair catching on the rough wall to form a halo around her body that looked disconcertingly like blood in the darkened room. She clutched Tenseiga to her chest with her free hand, much like the toy that she claimed to have outgrown. "What the hell is going on?"

He extended his left arm for her perusal, and her eyes flared in shock. "It would appear that my sword is using your energy to regenerate my limb." he said softly, a hint of a growl in his voice.

He reached out and gently tugged her hand from her shoulder. His nostrils flared as he saw the now unblemished skin that glowed in the dim room. A quick glance at her equally pristine and abdomen confirmed his suspicions.

"Not just to heal my flesh, then." he said softly. "Apparently, the more we touch each other, the more powerful the Tenseiga becomes."

He was pleased to see understanding dawn in the princess's eyes, even as she thrust the sword as far away from her as her arm would reach.

"You mean this damn thing is trying to play matchmaker!" she exclaimed.

He raised his eyebrow, his facial muscles sliding once more into his familiar mask of indifference as he reached out for his errant blade. "So it would appear."

His hand curled around the sword, pulling it from her unresisting fingers. Amy rose shakily to her feet, silently commanding her knees to stop trembling. "What are we going to do about it?"

Sesshoumaru shrugged and turned towards the doorway, assuming the princess would fall in behind him. "For now, we ignore it. Our priority is tracking Naraku.

"We shall deal with this…development…after we destroy him."

**8888888888**

Kagura kneeled before her creator, surprised that for once the human wench was nowhere to be seen.

"And you are sure that he disappeared without a trace?" Naraku asked coolly.

"I'm certain of it. He used a portal to get to his final destination, and wherever it led, I could not follow." Annoyance laced her tone, though she made every effort to keep it bland. To be honest, she didn't know if Sesshoumaru _had_ used a portal, or if he had merely stepped through a barrier. But she'd be damned before she'd let Naraku get so much as a whiff of where his strongest enemy's lair lay, even if that enemy was harboring a certain annoying wolf wench.

"You had better be certain of that, Kagura." Naraku's voice was imbued with menace. "As it is, I have another job for you."

Eyes opened in the shadows, dull red eyes that glowed in the surrounding darkness. Hot drool dripped from steaming fangs as a giant black monster-wolf padded into the light of the room. A single shard of the Shikon jewel winked from the creature's forehead, and Kagura didn't need her Death Dance magic to tell her that Naraku had recruited yet another minion from the ranks of the deceased.

"Take our newest friend out for a walk, Kagura." Naraku's malicious laugh rolled throughout the room. "I am certain he will have _no_ problem discovering where Sesshoumaru has hidden that princess."

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_A/N: Wow, nearly 7000 words long, and yet this chapter still felt…I dunno…short to me. Must be because Inuyasha and Co. sat this one out. _

_The plot is officially starting to thicken, and the romance between Sesshoumaru and Amy is off to its rocky start. Of course, now they're going to be wondering if what they're starting to feel for each other is really them, or Tenseiga working its special mojo. ((evil laugh)). The answer, of course, is that deep down they are attracted to one another, but neither is about to admit it – Amy because Sesshoumaru can be an icy prick, and Sesshoumaru for several reasons, the most obvious of one being his poor attitude towards those with a, shall we say, "less than pure" youkai heritage. Tenseiga, of course, has an agenda of its own and has no problem slicing through their bullcrap to achieve its own goals. _

_Reviewing, as always, is appreciated and helps to jumpstart my muse. I've got an outline done for the next chapter, but it still has some kinks that need to be worked out. I'm hoping to do the next update on or before August 1, provided my internet connection isn't yanked again._

Sanood: Eh, not so much fluff as good old fashioned lust…but I still hope that you enjoyed, lol.

Onna of Fire and Pain: Okay, here's the deal with the Prologue and the Interlude – they are glimpses into the future. Sort of. Basically, Amy's sitting in a jail cell reminiscing about how she ended up in it – and all the rest of the story is her "memory" of the events leading up to it, along with input from several other characters. I hope that makes it a little clearer…

Noeru Inu: I'm sorry that it took me so long to update, but better late than never, eh? ((winks)) Btw, I hope you enjoyed this update…


	10. Honorable Protector

**Disclaimer: Takahashi's toys, not mine. Am just borrowing.**

_A/N: Wow, I actually get this out almost exactly a month after my last update. It's a miracle! _

_I noticed a story-line mistake in the last chapter, so I fixed and reposted it a few days ago. For those who don't want to go back and re-read the last chapter, I had to include Amy's shoulder-wound that was caused by Jiman in "Sibling Blades: Pride and Joy". Tenseiga healed it when it regenerated part of Sesshoumaru's arm. Of course, anyone who wants to re-read the chapter just for the lime is more than welcome to take this excuse to. ((winks))_

_I also ended up doing some last minute research into Japanese geography and woodworking. And I tell you what, good English maps of Japan's mountains, lakes and medieval villages are darn hard to find but I still love Google for trying. _

_Used some more Japanese words, so here's a quick vocab list:_

_Katai Hogosha: Honorable Protector_

_Saimyoushou: Hell Insects, or Poisonous Insects, they are those annoying hornet-like bugs that Naraku sends out as spies._

_Jiman: "Pride", it is the name of the broadsword that was commissioned by Amy's older brother, Keiji, and is now being wielded by her grandmother, Ingrid._

_Kietsu: "Joy", the dagger that Amy wields, forged of a sliver of Jiman's blade and one of her own fangs._

_Suginoki: A species of cedar indigenous to Japan. Traditionally used in the creation of cabinetry and furniture. Modern Japan furniture makers tend to use cedar imported from the U.S. and Canada._

_Honshu: Considered the mainland of Japan, Honshu is the largest island in the Japanese archipelago. Edo (or modern-day Tokyo) lies on the eastern side of this island._

_Hida Mountains: The northernmost mountain range of the Japanese Alps._

_Hokkaido: The northernmost of the four large islands that comprise the spine of the Japanese Archipelago._

_Kyushu: The southernmost of the four main islands of Japan, lying just to the south of Honshu, and southwest of Shikkoku (the smallest of the four main islands). Nagasaki lies on the western coast of Kyushu, and Nagasaki Bay was the first Japanese port opened to Western traders in the late 16th century. It was also one of the two Japanese cities devastated by American atomic bombs during World War II (the other was Hiroshima, located in the southwest of Honshu) ._

_That all said, enjoy!_

**8888888888888888888888888888888**

**Katai Hogosha**

**8888888888888888888888888888888**

Despite what it appeared, she was _not_ avoiding him.

She was simply…occupying herself elsewhere.

Indefinitely.

Amy sighed, and laid her chin back down on her arms, which were crossed and resting on her bent knees. Her eyes followed the wolf and child that were chasing a two-headed dragon around one of the greenest pastures she'd ever seen, while she sat watching them from the shade of the only tree in sight. Dark clouds rolled on the horizon, though whether they were the product of her foul mood or of the oncoming rainy season, Amy didn't know.

'_Stop kidding yourself, girl, you're scared of him now and you know it.'_

She snorted, shaking her head. '_Funny, I thought the only thing I had to avoid doing was pissing him _off_. Who would have thought that I'd have to worry about turning the Frostman _on_?'_

Her cheeks grew warm as the memory of his hot skin against hers assaulted her senses, her eyes closing as she ground her teeth in frustration. How could she have let that happen?

She never would have said that they'd grown closer in the scant few days they had known each other, nor would she say that they had grown comfortable with each other.

What they _had_ done was grow accustomed to one another, and what had happened last night was the result of both of them letting their guards down.

Amy would admit that she did harbor certain…feelings towards the youkai lord. First and foremost he'd earned her annoyance with his cavalier attitude. He had earned her grudging respect with his prowess, both as a hunter and a warrior, and for his nonchalant protection of his weaker pack-mates.

She would even admit to harboring a tiny amount of admiration for the way he had been able to ignore whatever wound came his way, even as the healer within her was exasperated at the same trait. And he had certainly earned her gratitude when he not only embroiled himself in a youkai/human conflict at her request, but carried her unconscious and wounded self to safety afterwards.

He had never, until Tenseiga pushed him, done anything that even hinted at dishonorable conduct towards her or her nephew. Even when Tenseiga had egged him on, he had backed off when she had told him to stop.

Okay, so she had technically forced him away from herself. Amy wasn't fool enough to think that her strength alone would have made him stop if he had felt like pressing the issue, even if her pride wanted to believe it.

On an intellectual level, she would even admit that Sesshoumaru was possessed of several attributes that any female of youkai descent would find desirable. His strength alone would have seduced most of her youkai kin, as would his cold intelligence and his ruthlessness, though many would have fallen victims to their lust at the first sight of his perfect exterior.

'_Well,_' she amended to herself, '_his _near-_perfect exterior. There are females who would be idiotic enough to reject him for the want of his arm, whether he needs it or not._'

Which brought her thoughts back to the event that had unnerved her in the first place.

'_How can it be…that Tenseiga is tapping into my healing powers?' _she thought wonderingly.

As one of the few members of her clan that was more human than wolf, her youkai abilities were relatively limited. She'd had to train long and hard to gain the speed and endurance that came naturally to her cousins, and while they were able to control all of the elements around them only thunderstorms had answered Amy's call.

And even then, before she'd gained Kietsu as a focus, she'd had to be either furious or scared nearly out of her rational mind before the storm's full fury would bow to her command.

On the other hand…she rubbed her newly healed shoulder as she thought. Her healing abilities had always been at her beck and call – as simple and as natural to her as breathing. But the amount of energy it would have taken to heal this particular injury…the last wound she'd received from Jiman had taken nearly two months to heal.

Granted, Sesshoumaru had said that Tenseiga was a sword of healing. But Amy had to wonder if its master was the only person Tenseiga was trying to make whole.

'_Could it be that Sesshoumaru does need his arm back?_' she wondered. '_But if that's the case, why? And how would the Tenseiga know?_'

And considering that they had had to touch before Tenseiga could tap into her abilities, how long would they have to _be_ touching in order for the sword to complete the regeneration? And just how intimate would their contact need to be?

Amy squelched that train of thought before her hormones could voice their own opinion on the matter. There was no way, absolutely _no way_ she was going to mate with him, not when she was going to be leaving this time period in less than two weeks.

There was no such thing as a one-night stand for wolves, not even for so-called "good causes". Wolves mated for life, and dogs…well, dogs mated whoever was handy.

It was possible that all she had to do was lay hands on him. But touching him would lead to caressing him, caressing him would lead to kissing him, and kissing…

'_No! No! No!_' she told herself sternly, shaking the thought from her mind. '_No mating!_'

_But why? _Her hormones whimpered back. _He's delectable!_

'_Because I am not staying here, that's why!' _she roared back. '_I am tracking down Naraku, taking back the Talisman, and GOING HOME!'_

_Well, you haven't exactly been 'on the ball' you know. _Her hormones muttered sullenly. _If you don't get a move on, in thirteen days time will go all ka-blooey and we'll be stuck here anyway!_

Amy snorted at her wayward thoughts. Much as she hated to argue with herself, it was a good point. She did need to shake a leg, and that meant making battle plans with the dog youkai.

And as much as she wasn't avoiding Sesshoumaru, she wasn't exactly eager to be in close quarters with him and his sword again, either.

**8888888888**

This was utterly ridiculous. He, Sesshoumaru, feared no one.

And yet every time he began to walk out towards the wolf's scent, his will to move abandoned him.

'_What the hell is wrong with me?' _he demanded to himself. '_It isn't as though I've never spoken to a female before.'_

Though granted, Amaya was the first female he'd ever met who was trying to avoid because of his _other_ sword.

It had not helped him that his bed had been permeated with her enticing scent. His sleep had been plagued with erotic dreams in which piercing green eyes and the smell of repressed desire had played a prominent role. When he'd awoken aroused and alone, her scent a teasing phantom upon his bedding and in his nostrils, he thought he'd go insane.

Were she a youkai of any other species, Sesshoumaru would have had her in and out of his bed - and his mind – before dawn broke that morning.

But well he knew the folly of that idea. Many humans and youkai had sought a single night of pleasure with a beguiling wolf, only to find themselves captured in a mating bond before dawn's first light. It was said that once a male lost himself inside a she-wolf, he would never desire another female so long as she lived.

Granted, Amaya was not a pure-blooded wolf youkai and it was possible that her tainted blood would prevent the mating bond from occurring. Sesshoumaru, however, was not a fool.

And he was not one to take foolish chances.

Nor was he weak. Yet the ease with which his control had abandoned him the night before appalled him. He was no spring pup, to be manipulated by the whims of a mere blade!

Tenseiga pulsed at his hip, and he glared down at it. "Behave." He hissed menacingly. "Or I'll lock you up in the Armory."

What the hell was he doing anyway, thinking of walking out there to drag her back in? He had servants to do that! He had Jakken to do that! Fetching was beneath him!

And yet…he _wanted_ to speak to her. Wanted to hear the wry tones of her voice, have her fresh scent replace the memory that slept in his nostrils.

And that thought chilled him like no other could.

Without hesitation, he turned and strode back into his castle.

"Jakken." he snapped out, not pausing in his stride as the imp rushed to join him. "Find the Princess Amaya and inform her that she is to meet with me in the War Room. _Now._"

"Of course, my lord." The imp bowed until his head nearly scraped the floor, not straightening until a flash of silver told him that the deadly daiyoukai was already quite some distance away.

"And Jakken," his master's glacial tone seemed to freeze the very air between them, "if either of the children tries to join her, distract them. I wish to meet her alone."

"Yes, my lord." The imp acquiesced, turning without hesitation to carry out his appointed task, though his mind raced a mile a minute at the implications.

He hadn't missed the partial regeneration of his master's arm, nor that it had occurred while his lord and the hanyou were alone together the night before. Normally, when Sesshoumaru desired a solitary meeting with a female, his master had only one purpose in mind. But surely his lord wouldn't be considering a wolf hanyou for _that_?

What the devil was Lord Sesshoumaru up to?

**8888888888**

_Meanwhile, in a forest nearby…_

The group walked slowly along the forest trail, enjoying the shade while they could. Summer had finally arrived with a vengeance, and despite the hanyou's grumpy attitude all three humans were reluctant to move any faster than was absolutely necessary in the cloying heat and humidity.

"I'm tellin' ya, Sesshoumaru ain't up to any good!" Inuyasha groused, thumbing the hilt of Tetsusaiga in irritation as he walked in front of his friends. "He's never done anything decent in his life, and he sure as hell ain't going to start now!"

"Nevertheless," Miroku objected, placing his hands in his sleeves in a calm counterpoint to his friend's pose, "it did appear that the princess and he were on… friendly terms. We cannot discount that he did seem to be fighting alongside her, if not outright protecting her. He even carried her from the battlefield."

"And there is Rin to consider." Kagome said quietly. "Inuyasha, that little human girl has been following him for years now. He has to be taking care of her, or she would have died by now."

Her friend's ears flattened. "So what's your point?"

"My point is that he can't be as heartless as he wants everyone to think he is." Kagome replied, shaking her head. "His actions speak louder than his words…you just have to look at the right actions. He's even protected _you_ when he thought no one would notice."

"The hell he has!" Inuyasha yelled. "Need I remind you, he's claimed the right to KILL ME!"

"And in the process he's made it so that no one else from the ranks of the higher youkai can go after you – he has every right to slaughter them for encroaching on his lawful prey." Sango spoke up, shifting Hiraikotsu as she walked. From her perch in Sango's arms, Kirara mewed in agreement. "In a very round-about way, your brother has placed you under his protection, Inuyasha."

"Not to mention all the times he could have killed you and took a pitiful excuse not to." Shippou piped up from the basket on Kagome's bike. "Like that time he knocked Tetsusaiga away from you and you turned into a demon…or when we battled all those zombie soldiers So'ounga raised!"

"Your brother has certainly proven himself to be devious." Miroku mused. "By taking the official stance that he hates you and other half-breeds, he will have appeased any of his allies who saw your family as weak when your father took your mother as a mate. Yet by claiming the right to kill you, he's insured that you are still under the protection of your father's house. Clever…very clever, indeed."

"Keh!" Inuyasha huffed. "Clever or not, I _still _think the bastard ain't up to any good!"

**8888888888**

The wind shifted, bringing Jakken's scent to the pasture long before the diminutive retainer actually came into sight.

Amy still waited until she could hear his footsteps behind her before she addressed the irritating imp.

"What's up, Jakken?" she said warily, her eyes stilled trained on the wolf, child and two-headed dragon who were playing a complicated game of 'Tag' while the weather still allowed for it. The dark clouds were rolling closer, the scent of rain heavy on the wind.

She heard the footsteps slow behind her, and then the imp cleared his throat in an obnoxious way that let her know that he was most likely on official business.

"Lord Sesshoumaru demands your presence in the War Room, Princess Amaya." Jakken said imperiously.

"Lady Amaya, Jakken, is fine." she said acidly, wincing as Rin rolled to avoid a pounce from Derek and the wolf plowed into the ground. "And Lord Sesshoumaru couldn't request this himself because…?"

"It is not your place to ask why Lord Sesshoumaru does or does not choose to do something, hanyou!" Jakken huffed. "As it is, I am sure that he is _quite_ busy!"

Amy swiped her hand at the non-existent dirt on her knees, making sure her claws were in full view of the retainer. "Then kindly tell Lord Sesshoumaru that I will be happy to meet with him…provided Tenseiga isn't anywhere near him."

"You are in no position to make demands upon Lord Sesshoumaru!" the imp protested. "He has fed you, housed you, _protected_ you…!"

His voice trailed off as Amy's head turned slowly to regard him, her eyes bleeding to red as they locked with his own.

"I am," she growled, "quite aware of all that Lord Sesshoumaru has done for me and mine since he insisted that we accompany you here, Jakken. Nevertheless, I refuse to be alone in a confined area with him _and_ that damned katana."

Her gaze returned to the playing children, but her body remained stiff. Jakken barely caught her irritated voice as she muttered under her breath. "Sesshoumaru should be well aware of _why_, and quite frankly if he is as smart as I know he is, he won't have it on him, anyway."

"Nevertheless." Jakken settled for taking an imperious tone. "Your presence is wanted in the War Room."

Amy sighed, and pushed herself up from the ground. Brushing away the blades of grass that clung to her spare clothing, she cast an aggressive look at Jakken.

"Is there a reason you're still here?" she growled.

For once, Jakken listened to that little itty-bitty voice inside him that told him that speaking would be suicide. He bowed politely and toddled off towards the castle, confident that the wolf would not be far behind.

After all, nothing was more dangerous than disobeying a direct order from his lord.

**8888888888**

'_Damn it all.'_

Kagura had never been more miserable in her life. And considering how miserable her life had been, that was saying a lot about her current situation.

It wouldn't be so bad if she was actually allowed to take to the air. The oncoming storm was bringing gusts of wind that practically begged for her to come ride them. But no, of course she had to stay on the ground and trail behind a giant wolf automaton that didn't know which way it was going.

Alright, to be perfectly fair he did know which way he was going, but Kagura was doing her damnedest to keep him from getting there. She had thought that the scent trail would have been fairly diminished by the rainstorms that had raged the day before, but apparently she was wrong.

It hadn't taken the wolf even five minutes to pick up the princess's scent once Kagura led him to her observation point, and barely another hour before he had sniffed out the perimeter of Sesshoumaru's barrier.

Now they were prowling the edge, looking for a weak spot. And lest the reanimated corpse slip in without her, Kagura was ground-bound until they found it.

She did wonder why it was that Naraku trusted her with this assignment, instead of his confidante du jour. It was possible that Ingrid and the wolf had some sort of history – after all, the rumor mill had it that the woman had traded her soul to Naraku for revenge against a wolf clan.

The same wolf clan that Sesshoumaru's princess hailed from.

It would appeal to Naraku's twisted nature to allow Ingrid to have her vengeance, only to resurrect the person she killed and draft him. Not only would full satisfaction be denied to his ally, his newest adversary would most likely be forced to fight against a former comrade.

It was an old tactic for him, and one that Naraku reveled in.

After all, Naraku had amused himself quite well by pitting the two youkai exterminating siblings against one another. He had pulled the boy's strings for a good two years before he regained his memories and turned on Naraku.

Kagura flicked her fan open, idly sending another gust of wind against Sesshoumaru's barrier. Even with her discreet help, the young exterminator had had no chance of succeeding. The longer he remained at Naraku's side, the more delight Naraku took in twisting him, until the boy finally realized that his absent amnesia was no longer a secret.

Kohaku had escaped into the wilds of Japan nearly a year ago, and Kagura had barely kept Naraku from discovering her own part in his defection.

Oh yes, pitting the two siblings against each other had been a very fulfilling game for Naraku. Naraku took the greatest of pleasures in doing whatever caused his enemies the greatest pain, and he merely considered allies to be enemies that hadn't turned on him yet.

Of course, with allies like Kagura around, that was probably a wise view to have.

Take today, for example. Every so often she would send a gust of wind the wolf's way, distracting him from his search. She could only do it when the Saimyoushou were buzzing somewhere else, but she took every limited opportunity she got.

So far, she figured that she had wasted at least half-a-day with her little diversions.

'_Sesshoumaru…whatever you're planning, hurry up and do it before it's too late.'_ Kagura thought fervently.

**8888888888**

"Jakken said you wanted to see me?"

The dog murmured an affirmative, but did not take his eyes from the weird table that he was leaning over. Amy was relieved to see that he'd donned the same clothing and armor he had worn during their travels, complete with that fuzzy, fluffy…thing…wrapped around his shoulder. It was hard enough to think straight with his warm, masculine scent coating the air, the last thing she needed was for him to be running around all half-naked and yummy-looking again, too.

Her relief quickly turned to annoyance when she saw Tenseiga in its customary place upon his hip, nestled comfortably between his body and the Tokijin.

'_Okay…guess he's _not_ as smart as I thought he was._'

Her irritation, however, had to take a backseat to her fascination when she was able to take a closer look at the map upon the table.

If she didn't know better, she would have sworn it was a hologram of some kind. Three-dimensional, the map showed the entirety of the Japanese Archipelago, including a small, charred spot that winked at her from the middle of the Hida Mountain Range. As she looked closer, Amy realized that the illusion even included little puffs of smoke that rose from the map's surface only to dissipate within a few seconds. Illusionary fog was rolling down from the nearest mountain, meshing with the tiny smoke tendrils, and with a start Amy realized that she was staring at the ruined village and where Sesshoumaru's castle lay hidden from magical view.

Sesshoumaru held his breath, looking from beneath his eyelashes at her as she approached the opposite, western side of the table and leaned towards him. With her hair pulled tightly back into a braid, he had no problem seeing her eyes focus on the magical map that his father had had commissioned in the earliest days of his administration.

Covering the entire length and breadth of a seven-foot by seven-foot table made entirely of aromatic suginoki wood, the map was in a constant state of fluctuation. While his father had employed countless scouts and entrusted them with keeping the map as up-to-date as possible, Sesshoumaru preferred to update the map himself.

Now was not the first time he had questioned the wisdom of doing so, but he believed very firmly that if you wanted something done right you had to do it yourself.

His father's scouts, after all, had failed to provide Touga with the intelligence needed to prevent his death. Sesshoumaru refused to make the same mistake.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as the princess's scent invaded his nostrils from across the table, willing himself to stay still though every muscle in his body demanded he leap over the map and pounce her, his instincts clamoring for him to rip her black long-sleeved shirt and strange pants to shreds.

It was with the greatest of efforts that he managed to stay on his own side of the table.

And besides, Sesshoumaru knew for a fact that they were the only clothes she had left. If he destroyed them, he would be forced to either clothe her himself or watch her walk around with only her hair as a shield between her and the elements.

And while the first option did not appeal to him in the least, the second was downright disturbing with the lecherous thoughts that its mere contemplation inspired.

"Nifty map." Amy drawled, her attention still focused on the Hidas. "So, if we're here," she pointed her finger at the appropriate spot, unaware of Sesshoumaru's internal struggle, "where do we need to go?"

'_My bed._' was his unbidden thought, squelched quickly beneath his mental heel. '_Damn you for this, Tenseiga!_'

The sword remained unusually silent upon his hip. Dismayed, Sesshoumaru wondered if his train of thought had truly been a nudge of the sword's…or purely his own.

"Umm, Sesshoumaru?" He looked up to meet the she-wolf's piercing gaze, and was disturbed by the calmness in her eyes.

"The north." He replied automatically, moving to the southern end of the table to point out the faint purple lines that began in the east and west of Honshu, only to combine in a solid line at the southern point of Hokkaido. "For the last several weeks, Naraku's minions have been steadily traveling northwards."

"That doesn't make sense, though." Amy said, shaking her head as she took a step to the northern end of the table. "The portal is on Kyushu, barely ten miles from Nagasaki. Why would Naraku be gathering his army at the opposite end of the archipelago?"

"Perhaps there is another portal on Hokkaido?" Sesshoumaru countered, taking a step to the western side of the table to peer closer at the northern island.

Amy shook her head, wisps of her hair escaping her braid to gently frame her face. She walked to the northern end of the table, missing the narrowing of Sesshoumaru's eyes as she waved her hand over where, someday, the city of Kushiro would lay on Hokkaido's eastern shore. "Yes, actually, there is, but the Talisman is linked to the Nagasaki Gate. It won't open any of the others while that portal remains active. Naraku will either have to go through Nagasaki, or remain in this time period.

"To be honest, I don't see what good an army of human conscripts will do him, anyway." she said thoughtfully, shifting to the eastern side of the table as Sesshoumaru deliberately moved to join her at the north. "An army of youkai soldiers, maybe, but the farmers of this time period would barely be cannon fodder against the armies of the future. Ingrid should know better than that."

"Princess," Sesshoumaru growled, jerking her attention from the map to him, "are you running away from me?"

"Umm, no?" she countered, taking another step to the south.

He sank his claws into the edge of the table, ordering his howling instincts to stand down even as they demanded he give chase. "Then why do you keep moving away?"

"Why do you keep crowding me?" she countered, crossing her arms in defiance. "I thought we agreed it was best if we didn't get too close to one another?"

"No, we agreed that we would take care of this…problem…once Naraku has been dealt with." He said calmly. "In the meantime, there is no need for you to be skittish around me."

Her nostrils flared. "Who said I was skittish of you? Maybe I just don't want your matchmaking sword anywhere near me!"

An incredulous look crossed Sesshoumaru's face. "Are you questioning my control over my own blade?"

Amy scoffed. "After what happened last night? What do you think?"

Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru removed his claws from the table. Reaching into his obi, he pulled the Tenseiga from its customary spot and laid it upon the table's edge. Slowly, deliberately, he walked towards the defiant wolf, until he stood but a step away and could look fully down into her face.

He was at least eight feet away from the interfering blade, and yet the desire to rip her offensive clothing to shreds had not diminished a single iota. Her scent still curled sweetly in the air between them, and the fierce, partially frightened look in her eyes made things low in his gut coil and tighten. Could it be that the Tenseiga was not the sole cause of his fascination with her?

In wonder, he stared down at her and brought his hand up to gently caress her cheek.

Amy fought not to tremble in the weight of that gaze. Passion and anger fought in his eyes, and when his hand came up to gently cup the left side of her face, Amy could not hold back the shiver that ran through her body.

When he spoke, his tone was quiet but commanding. "Tell me truly, Amaya, which it is that you were running from – the Tenseiga, or this Sesshoumaru."

"Honestly?" He nodded, his roaring instincts calming as she leaned, ever so slightly, into his hand. "Both of you." she admitted. "I don't know if what happens between us is because we will it, or because the Tenseiga does. And that …disturbs me."

Her eyes closed as his lips touched her brow, his hand dropping from her face to allow his arm to wrap around her body and pull her comfortingly close. "This Sesshoumaru rules by the sword, but the sword does not rule him." He murmured, his head rising to rub his chin on the top of her head. "You have nothing to fear from the Tenseiga.

"Besides," he continued mischievously, his face dropping to murmur in her ear, "Even without the Tenseiga's presence, this Sesshoumaru can still smell your desire for him. When _are _you going to admit that you find me attractive, Princess?"

He held her fast as her hands immediately planted themselves on his chest to push him away, ignoring the growl that issued from her throat.

"Not today, buster." Amy glared at him as he refused to let her go. Geez, did he have to take such delight in embarrassing her?

"Is that so?" A teasing light came into his eyes. He knew he should not be doing this, but taunting her gave his hormones the mistaken impression that he was actually _doing_ something about their misbehavior, and quieted them.

Besides, her reactions when so pressed were quite entertaining.

"If not today, then perhaps tomorrow?"

Amy made a disgusted sound deep in her throat, and ducked out of his grip. "We have more important things to worry about, Sesshoumaru."

A low chuckle escaped him as he allowed her to back away, turning his attention back to the map. "That we do, Princess."

Amy straightened her shirt, walking once more to the western side of the map while glaring at him. '_He is so…so…aggravating!_'

Sesshoumaru turned his full attention to the map, his eyes tracing path Naraku's army cut towards Hokkaido as he mused aloud. "You are right. An army of mere humans will not do him any good. Even the samurai provide poor sport for the youkai of this age. But why would Naraku gather such an army so far from where his real goal lies? That schemer does nothing without a purpose…"

Amaya's earlier words, 'cannon fodder', echoed in his mind. There was a connection here, he could feel it. But what…

A string of curses fell from his lips before he could stop it, words so vile that the wolf clapped her hands over her ears and glared at him.

"What the hell was that for!" She growled at him as his tirade ended, slowly lowering her hands.

"I should have known." Sesshoumaru said bitterly. "His human army is merely a distraction. The most deadly of Naraku's enemies will not fight humans unless the humans attack them. By making his presence in Hokkaido so obvious, the majority of his enemies will go there to seek him out. And while his enemies are thus preoccupied with opponents they will be busy trying _not_ to kill, Naraku will take the opportunity to escape this time. That cowardly bastard!"

"But that does make my task much simpler." Amy said decisively. "If someone attacks his northern forces before he expects it, his hand will be forced. He'll either have to head for Nagasaki prematurely, or hide somewhere else. Either way, he will be forced to move and once he does it will be much easier to find him."

Sesshoumaru nodded, a clawed finger already tracing a faint red line just outside of his own domain. "Flushing him out may be a fairly simple matter. My half-brother and his allies are already traveling towards his army's lines. It would take a mere nudge to ensure that they actually cross paths."

Amy looked at Sesshoumaru in surprise. "I didn't know you had a brother."

The daiyoukai's shoulders stiffened. "Half-brother." he corrected her.

Amy cocked her head. "I take it you two don't get along?"

"The only things we have in common," Sesshoumaru growled, "are our father's blood, and our desire to destroy Naraku."

Amy held her hands up in a placating gesture. "Hey now, I wasn't trying to pry, Sesshoumaru. If you don't want to talk about him, then I don't want to hear about him. Okay?"

Sesshoumaru stilled at her words. Of all the people who knew of his relationship to Inuyasha, Amaya was the first who had not tried to coax all of the morbid details out of him. Even Rin had asked annoying questions before Jakken had made her stop.

It was a refreshing change.

"Our father died because of him." he said quietly. "He died a pitiful, meaningless death because he took a human woman for a mate, and sired a hanyou son on her."

"Your father died protecting them?" she asked gently, her heart clenching in sympathy as a brief look of pain crossed Sesshoumaru's face.

It was a look that was quickly covered by a stoic mask. "Yes." His voice was clipped, his tone final.

As much as she wanted to press the issue, Amy could feel Sesshoumaru's walls sliding back into place. If she was going to learn anything else, she was going to have to leave it alone.

For now.

"So how are we going to 'nudge' your brother into going after Naraku?" She waved her hand over the map, indicating the red trail. "They're close to the army's path, but a single distraction could draw them away."

Sesshoumaru's lips curled up in the barest hint of an evil smile. Amy shivered – to be honest, he wasn't so much smiling as baring his teeth, and the wolf instincts deep inside her knew that the gesture boded ill for someone.

When he spoke, his tone was smug and his voice fairly dripped with venom.

"That can be accomplished _quite_ expediently."

**8888888888**

Kagura straightened from her sneezing fit, covering her nose with the back of her sleeve. '_What the hell!_'

**888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888**

_And that's all for now, folks. This chapter would have been out yesterday, except that Sesshoumaru's "playful" side decided to come out again while I was doing the final edit on this chapter. And it's so much fun to write him teasing Amy…what I can't wait for is when Amy turns the tables on him. ((evil laugh))_

_Reviewer Responses_

_Rave264: That's what makes Sesshoumaru such an interesting character to play with, though. If you pay careful attention to the anime/manga, Sesshoumaru is capable of love – he's just not very capable of showing it. Rin's attachment to him appears to be thawing him out, which is why I set my story about three years after Rin joins him – I figure that's given his character time to soften on that point. _

_Kagura-the-Living-Wind: I'm glad you think so. I think they're a cute couple, too, but then I'm very, very prejudiced in that regard…_

_Angel of Mercy: I lmao when I read your review. I LOVE reviews like that! They let me know I'm not the only one enjoying this story…_

_Darkest Goddess: Why, thank you. I'm glad you like._

_Sanood: Gotta love lust. And Sesshoumaru in lust is just divine. As for sitting back…I have a feeling this fic will be done around Christmas. I hope you aren't waiting that long to do your CaFS sequel?_

_Mitsukai-san: Thank you. Part of the problem with writing Sesshoumaru in a romance is that he IS so emotionally-constipated in the canon. Thus, it is impossible to write an in-character romance for him without doing something that either A) Evolves his character, or B) Puts him in a setting/situation that we don't see in the canon universe. That's why I didn't let him make a move on Amy until he was back in his own domain – I figured that he'd relax and let his personal armor down while he was in a place that he knew was safe._

Remember – Feed the Muse. Review!

…

Please?


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